'Lack of will' to prosecute pirates

A lack of will – and resources – is limiting the number of arrests made for piracy off the coast of Africa, with even fewer prosecutions. That’s the view of Dr Henri Fouche, associate professor at the University of South Africa (Unisa) department of Criminology and Security Science, who believes there are two key reasons for this. First is what he terms the “catch and release phase” of piracy which relates to destruction of evidence, and second a lack of political will by certain African states to undertake the expensive investigation, imprisonment and prosecution of pirates. Speaking at the South African chapter meeting of the Transported Asset Protection Association (Tapa), Fouche noted that the “catch and release” phase during 2008 to 2010 originated from the United States marines battling piracy off the coast of Somalia. They believed that all weapons and equipment used by pirates needed to be destroyed in order to prevent them being used again. He said the department was now hosting training sessions for the South Africa navy – deployed in Mozambique to ensure piracy doesn’t reach South African shores – to sensitise them to abandon the approach of destroying evidence. “During the 2008 to 2010 period, nine out of 10 pirates who were arrested were released from prison as the evidence to prosecute them had been destroyed,” said Fouche.