About Us

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APCOF was established in 2004 as a coalition of police oversight bodies and practitioners and was registered in 2006 as a not-for-profit company under South African Company Law. In 2012 APCOF was reregistered as a Trust. APCOF is in a unique position in the policing and police oversight field. Trustees and Advisory Board members form a network of expertise bringing together leading practitioners to promote a continental agenda and facilitate shared learning and experiences.

[/mk_fancy_title][vc_accordions action_style=”toggle-action” container_bg_color=”#ffffff” responsive=”false”][vc_accordion_tab title=”History and Achievements”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1713173629411{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]APCOF’s recent achievements include:

[/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”Governance”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1711350529341{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]The trustees who are responsible are responsible for the administrative, financial and content integrity of the organization are supported by an Advisory board responsible for strategic direction.

The trustee board members are:

Mr Greg Cronje
Greg Cronje is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a BCompt Accounting Honours degree. He has over 20 years’ experience servicing clients in the non-profit sector. He is a former committee member of the Western Cape Regional Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors and has served on the Audit Committee of the South African Heritage Resource Agency. Until recently Greg was an audit partner at a leading national audit and accounting firm. He is currently a member of the audit and risk committee of the South African Board for Sheriffs, Furntech and also serves on the boards of a number of other charitable trusts.

Ms Annelize van Wyk (Chairperson)

Annelize van Wyk is an independent consultant in security sector reform and is the former chair of the South African National Assembly portfolio committee on police.

Adv Pansy Tlakula

Adv Pansy Tlakula is the Chairperson of the Information Regulator and a member of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UN CERD). She holds a B. Proc degree from the University of the North( now University of Limpopo), an LL.B degree from the University of the Witwatersrand and an LL.M degree from Harvard University. In 2006 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Legal Studies by the Vaal University of Technology. She is a former Chairperson and Chief Electoral Officer of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the Chairperson of the African Commission for Human and People’s Rights (ACPHR) and its Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa.

Prof Elrena van der Spuy

Emeritus professor in the Faculty of Law of the University of Cape Town (UCT). She previously served as deputy dean of the Department of Public Law and past director of the Centre for Criminology at UCT.

Dr Sandy Africa
Sandy Africa is an Associate Professor in Political Sciences at the University of Pretoria (UP),  lecturing in public policy and international relations.  She currently serves as UP’s Deputy Dean for Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Humanities.  Prior to this,  she worked in top management roles in the South African security sector,  followed by extensive capacity-building, policy research and technical support to various national, sub-regional and regional initiatives aimed at strengthening democratic control and oversight of the security services, particularly on the African continent.  Her research is centred on peacebuilding,  security sector reform and governance, and access to information to security information. She holds a Ph.D. in Public Management from the University of the Witwatersrand, located in South Africa.

 

The advisory board members are:

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APCOF has developed a theory of change to promote police accountability through the achievement of three interrelated immediate outcomes.

These “intermediate outcomes” which are the focus of APCOF’s work are: increased political support for police accountability; improved capacity for oversight; and the development of a community of practitioners promoting accountability.

Democratic governance and the rule of law are the outcome of inherently political processes, and so too is the enterprise of promoting accountable policing. APCOF’s “theory of change” recognizes that policing in Africa will not become more amenable to accountability without the explicit support and promotion of those who have political power. Decision makers need to accept police accountability as not only a normative requirement of the broader policing reform project, but an essential component to police effectiveness and efficiency. APCOF acknowledges in its approach that the work of police accountability cannot be limited to the more comfortable realm of training, capacity building, and technical support but that efforts have to extend to influence the various spaces in which political power is held and exercised. This may include state and non-state spaces, as well as national, regional and continental contexts. Critically, the notion of political support must also extend to police agencies themselves whose support and cooperation has been highlighted as a central element to ensuring effective oversight of the police.

Further, it is clear that many of the actors involved in police accountability work may experience capacity constraints that may limit their ability to contribute effectively to accountability efforts. Capacity constraints range from limitations in information, to the absence of tools for assessment, to weaknesses in technical capacity and skills.

This aspect of APCOF’s work utilizes the general framework offered by Stone and Ward, and addresses its capacity-building efforts to all three levels identified state civilian oversight, internal police controls and civil society.

There is no question for APCOF that a strong group of individuals with passion for and commitment to police accountability is central to promoting stronger accountability and oversight on the continent. Knowledgeable state and non-state actors equipped with the capacity and tools to promote increased accountability, particularly at national and more local levels, can contribute to this agenda in the following ways:

APCOF’s operational model is also centered on networking. APCOF operates with a small staff  and seeks to undertake its operations utilizing a range of relationships and partnerships across the continent. This approach allows for APCOF to benefit from local knowledge and expertise, as well as to contribute to local capacity building, where this is relevant. This model allows for organizational overheads to remain low at the center, and for greater investment in resources in the development of activities.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”Staff”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1595337151257{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1722594699275{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Sean Tait – Director
Sean Tait is the founder and Director of APCOF. He holds an Honours degree in Criminology from the University of Cape Town. He is the former Director of the Criminal Justice Initiative at the Open Society Foundation for South Africa, and the former Executive Director of the non-governmental organisation UMAC. His areas of expertise include policing, police accountability, crime prevention, and peace building.

Helene van der Watt – Office Manager
Helene holds a project management certificate from the University of Cape Town and has more than 20 years’ experience in the field of administration, grants and programme management. Prior to joining APCOF she worked as a Programme and Grants Administrator for the Open Society Foundation of South Africa.

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