CMY3706 essay questions
25 marks
• Detailed discussion of the modus operandi of CIT robbers based on Thobane’s research
According to Esterhuysen, there are two forms of CIT attacks:
1. Takes place on the road, when the security van is en-route to deliver or collect
cash and cash is forcibly removed.
2. Takes place when cash is taken as CIT personnel member carries it from the
security van and carries it to the bank.
HÜbschle explains that the probability of a robbery being successful depends on how
accurately it was planned. The planning includes casing (replacing) the target, choosing
gang members, weapons, getaway vehicles and disguises; assessing security measure
used by the target and how they can be bypassed and the allocation of tasks.
According to Thobane, CIT robbers take about 1 week-2 months to plan their attack. The
planning depends on the difficulty of the job and the availability of inside information.
CIT robbers worked hand in with bank or CIT employees who provided them with
information such as the layout of the bank, when the AV will be delivering the cash, how
much is in the AV, who is on duty and which route the AV will take. The insider is given a
percentage of the cash from the robbers for their information.
Recruiting members into the gang is one of the most NB aspects of the planning process.
Members are recruited if they have certain expertise, possess resources which are in
demand and have particular character traits. There is no leader, and anyone is allowed
to join if they can meet the above criteria. A typical CIT gang consisted of 6 members,
but they may recruit members from other gangs to assist them if the need arises.
A highway robbery will need a bigger group of 10-15 members whereas in places on the
outskirts of big cities or in rural areas, only 5-6 people are needed to commit a CIT
robbery.
Otu warns that armed robberies are committed in a syndicated manner and thus
networking is an important aspect of this type of crime. An employee of the bank/CIT
company who networks with the robbers is called the “finger man” or “tsharo”.
According to Thobane: AK47s,R5s,R1s, CZs, handguns, revolvers, machine guns, knives,
crowbars, iron scissors and spiked chains are the weapons mostly used in CIT robberies.
Rossouw adds LM4s and LM5s to the list of weapons used.
You may share this document with pleasure, but you may not attempt to sell it for profit. ©Chana
, Thobane identified the following different roles and responsibilities of group members:
➢ Front men-the responsibility of these robbers is to attack the escort. They attack
and disarm the CIT officers. They must be fast and flexible. If there is an escort
there will need to be two groups of front men.
➢ Cash collectors-open the security van and remove the cash which is passed on to
ground men who load it into the getaway vehicle
➢ Guards/spotters -control the traffic. They take away cellphones, vehicle keys and
guns from witnesses. They also watch out for armed responses, police and react
by opening fire if necessary.
➢ Machaisa – stops the cash van by ramming it with another vehicle
➢ Madubula -shoots the tyres of the AV in order to stop it. And will assist the
machaisa if ramming into the vehicle didn’t help to stop it.
➢ Rovers- roam around the scene to monitor that the robbery does not take longer
than 10 minutes.
➢ Drivers- are those who have excellent driving skills and will most likely be driving
the getaway vehicle.
➢ Off-ramp drivers-are parked a few kilometers from the crime scene, waiting for
the robbery to be completed. After the robbery, the gang will drive to the off-
ramp in the cars used on the scene and then dump the cars and flee in the off-
ramp cars to a safe house where they share the loot and hide from the police.
• Discuss 21st century terrorism and how it is the most complex and difficult issue to curb
There is no single, universally-accepted definition for the word “terrorism”. It is steeped
in emotional controversy and is easier to describe then define it. Terrorism is the
unlawful use of violence or threat of violence directed at society to instil fear and
intimidation in its pursuit for political change.
The absence of an agreed-upon definition matters for 2 specific reasons. It blocks the
possibility of referring terrorist acts to an international court and it leaves individual
countries free to outlaw activities which they chose to classify as terrorism, perhaps for
their own political convenience. Terrorism instils fear and terror into its targeted
audience.
Various definitions to highlight the common denominators to formulate a working
definition:
➢ In the political arena, terrorism is defined as motivated violence for political
convictions
You may share this document with pleasure, but you may not attempt to sell it for profit. ©Chana
, ➢ Siegel: terrorism indicates pre-planned, politically motivated violence by groups
of people that want to elicit public reaction. Violence is directed at targets that
cannot defend themselves.
➢ Whittaker: terrorism is the pre-planned threat or use of violence by sub-national
groups or clandestine individuals with the intention of intimidating or forcing
governments in order to achieve political, religious or ideological outcomes and
to create fear in the public at large
➢ Schwenkenbecher: terrorism as a strategy or tactic where violence or force is
employed against one group of people to create fear. It is meant to intimidate,
coerce or influence another group of people and it is used to reach political
objectives.
➢ Danilovic and Manojlovic: terrorism is the described as criminal acts intended or
calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public for political purpose
and they make use of political, philosophical. Ideological, racial, ethnic, religious
or any other nature to justify their actions.
➢ White: terrorism is the act of threatened act of violence against innocent people
for political purposes.
➢ Brown, Esbensen and Geis: identify 4 elements of terrorism: act of violence.
Creates fear in those exposed to it. Targets both active opponents and innocent
victims. And has a political purpose.
The OAU (Organisation of African Unity ) Convention on the Prevention and Combating
terrorism describes a terrorism act as:
➢ Any act that is a violation of the criminal laws of a State Party and which may
endanger the life, physical integrity or freedom of, or cause serious injury or
death to any person, any number or group of persons or causes or may cause
damage to public or private property, natural resources, environmental or
cultural heritage and is calculated or intended to:
▪ Intimidate, put in fear, force, coerce or induce any government body,
institution, the general public or any segment thereof, to do or abstain
from doing any act, or to adopt or abandon a particular standpoint or to
act according to certain principles.
▪ Disrupt any public service, the delivery of any essential service to the
public or to create a public emergency.
▪ Create general insurrection in a state
➢ Any promotion, sponsoring, contribution to, command, aid, incitement,
encouragement, attempt, threat, conspiracy, organizing or procurement of any
person with the intention to commit any act.
You may share this document with pleasure, but you may not attempt to sell it for profit. ©Chana
25 marks
• Detailed discussion of the modus operandi of CIT robbers based on Thobane’s research
According to Esterhuysen, there are two forms of CIT attacks:
1. Takes place on the road, when the security van is en-route to deliver or collect
cash and cash is forcibly removed.
2. Takes place when cash is taken as CIT personnel member carries it from the
security van and carries it to the bank.
HÜbschle explains that the probability of a robbery being successful depends on how
accurately it was planned. The planning includes casing (replacing) the target, choosing
gang members, weapons, getaway vehicles and disguises; assessing security measure
used by the target and how they can be bypassed and the allocation of tasks.
According to Thobane, CIT robbers take about 1 week-2 months to plan their attack. The
planning depends on the difficulty of the job and the availability of inside information.
CIT robbers worked hand in with bank or CIT employees who provided them with
information such as the layout of the bank, when the AV will be delivering the cash, how
much is in the AV, who is on duty and which route the AV will take. The insider is given a
percentage of the cash from the robbers for their information.
Recruiting members into the gang is one of the most NB aspects of the planning process.
Members are recruited if they have certain expertise, possess resources which are in
demand and have particular character traits. There is no leader, and anyone is allowed
to join if they can meet the above criteria. A typical CIT gang consisted of 6 members,
but they may recruit members from other gangs to assist them if the need arises.
A highway robbery will need a bigger group of 10-15 members whereas in places on the
outskirts of big cities or in rural areas, only 5-6 people are needed to commit a CIT
robbery.
Otu warns that armed robberies are committed in a syndicated manner and thus
networking is an important aspect of this type of crime. An employee of the bank/CIT
company who networks with the robbers is called the “finger man” or “tsharo”.
According to Thobane: AK47s,R5s,R1s, CZs, handguns, revolvers, machine guns, knives,
crowbars, iron scissors and spiked chains are the weapons mostly used in CIT robberies.
Rossouw adds LM4s and LM5s to the list of weapons used.
You may share this document with pleasure, but you may not attempt to sell it for profit. ©Chana
, Thobane identified the following different roles and responsibilities of group members:
➢ Front men-the responsibility of these robbers is to attack the escort. They attack
and disarm the CIT officers. They must be fast and flexible. If there is an escort
there will need to be two groups of front men.
➢ Cash collectors-open the security van and remove the cash which is passed on to
ground men who load it into the getaway vehicle
➢ Guards/spotters -control the traffic. They take away cellphones, vehicle keys and
guns from witnesses. They also watch out for armed responses, police and react
by opening fire if necessary.
➢ Machaisa – stops the cash van by ramming it with another vehicle
➢ Madubula -shoots the tyres of the AV in order to stop it. And will assist the
machaisa if ramming into the vehicle didn’t help to stop it.
➢ Rovers- roam around the scene to monitor that the robbery does not take longer
than 10 minutes.
➢ Drivers- are those who have excellent driving skills and will most likely be driving
the getaway vehicle.
➢ Off-ramp drivers-are parked a few kilometers from the crime scene, waiting for
the robbery to be completed. After the robbery, the gang will drive to the off-
ramp in the cars used on the scene and then dump the cars and flee in the off-
ramp cars to a safe house where they share the loot and hide from the police.
• Discuss 21st century terrorism and how it is the most complex and difficult issue to curb
There is no single, universally-accepted definition for the word “terrorism”. It is steeped
in emotional controversy and is easier to describe then define it. Terrorism is the
unlawful use of violence or threat of violence directed at society to instil fear and
intimidation in its pursuit for political change.
The absence of an agreed-upon definition matters for 2 specific reasons. It blocks the
possibility of referring terrorist acts to an international court and it leaves individual
countries free to outlaw activities which they chose to classify as terrorism, perhaps for
their own political convenience. Terrorism instils fear and terror into its targeted
audience.
Various definitions to highlight the common denominators to formulate a working
definition:
➢ In the political arena, terrorism is defined as motivated violence for political
convictions
You may share this document with pleasure, but you may not attempt to sell it for profit. ©Chana
, ➢ Siegel: terrorism indicates pre-planned, politically motivated violence by groups
of people that want to elicit public reaction. Violence is directed at targets that
cannot defend themselves.
➢ Whittaker: terrorism is the pre-planned threat or use of violence by sub-national
groups or clandestine individuals with the intention of intimidating or forcing
governments in order to achieve political, religious or ideological outcomes and
to create fear in the public at large
➢ Schwenkenbecher: terrorism as a strategy or tactic where violence or force is
employed against one group of people to create fear. It is meant to intimidate,
coerce or influence another group of people and it is used to reach political
objectives.
➢ Danilovic and Manojlovic: terrorism is the described as criminal acts intended or
calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public for political purpose
and they make use of political, philosophical. Ideological, racial, ethnic, religious
or any other nature to justify their actions.
➢ White: terrorism is the act of threatened act of violence against innocent people
for political purposes.
➢ Brown, Esbensen and Geis: identify 4 elements of terrorism: act of violence.
Creates fear in those exposed to it. Targets both active opponents and innocent
victims. And has a political purpose.
The OAU (Organisation of African Unity ) Convention on the Prevention and Combating
terrorism describes a terrorism act as:
➢ Any act that is a violation of the criminal laws of a State Party and which may
endanger the life, physical integrity or freedom of, or cause serious injury or
death to any person, any number or group of persons or causes or may cause
damage to public or private property, natural resources, environmental or
cultural heritage and is calculated or intended to:
▪ Intimidate, put in fear, force, coerce or induce any government body,
institution, the general public or any segment thereof, to do or abstain
from doing any act, or to adopt or abandon a particular standpoint or to
act according to certain principles.
▪ Disrupt any public service, the delivery of any essential service to the
public or to create a public emergency.
▪ Create general insurrection in a state
➢ Any promotion, sponsoring, contribution to, command, aid, incitement,
encouragement, attempt, threat, conspiracy, organizing or procurement of any
person with the intention to commit any act.
You may share this document with pleasure, but you may not attempt to sell it for profit. ©Chana
