A cause to unravel the role of criminologists in compiling pre-sentence report: A South African perspective

Abstract

A sizeable number of individuals, including members of the criminal justice system, have limited knowledge of the value of criminologists’ proficiency to compile an intensive pre-sentence report. To fill in this gap and gain an in-depth understanding of how criminologists can contribute as active participants in the criminal court, a qualitative research paradigm involving one-on-one in-depth interviews was employed to collect the data information that was required for the study. The findings strongly suggest that criminologists, who are currently functioning peripherally in the CJS, can be employed to exert greater influence on the compilation of PSRs, not only in the Durban High Court but also across a diverse range of contemporary global societies. More elaborately, the study has adequately demonstrated that the professionalization of criminologists should not only be restricted to research and scholastic endeavours.

Keywords

• criminal justice system
• criminology
• criminologists’ role
• court system
• pre-sentence report
• south africa