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Monash academic is crime expert for ‘Solving It 4’ series on SABC

July 2010

Dr Robert Peacock
Dr Robert Peacock

Monash South Africa criminologist Dr Robert Peacock, who heads up the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department in the School of Arts, at Monash South Africa, is currently in an expert role in the popular Solving It 4 documentary TV series.

Produced for SABC3 by Wessel van Huyssteen, of Tin Rage TV Productions, the fourth season of this series has 39 episodes which will run through until January next year. It is currently being aired at 21:30 on Sunday evenings.

According to Dr Peacock, who was also involved in the research for the series: “Conflict does not occur in a vacuum. It relates to an inter-play between a broad range of variables and often has devastating consequences.”

Based on true South African crime stories, the Solving It 4 series seeks to understand what these variables are and how they are interlinked. In this series the history behind the crime, the context and the exchange between specific victims and offenders are all unpacked.

Unlike the traditional ‘who-done-it’ crime programmes, the focus is instead on the ‘why-it-was-done’ aspects of the crime.

The series is divided into 11 mini-series, each consisting of three to four episodes, which look at a specific crime category such as serial crimes, hate crimes, ritual crimes etc.

In each individual story the crime is deconstructed as a way of trying to understand the specific circumstances surrounding the committing and solving of the conflict - but the series also takes a look at the broader framework, type and contexts within which the criminal behaviour is located.

Dr Peacock says that: “Understanding the framework requires a comparative study of apparently similar, but different crimes and contexts. The shift of focus onto the broader criminological and victimological factors in Solving It 4 makes it necessary to place the work done by eminent criminologists into the foreground.”

Besides Dr Peacock, other specialists taking part in the series include psychiatrists, forensic investigators, social workers and legal experts.

“In contrast to the historical punitive and retributive approach to justice, in this series restorative justice is presented as a natural outcome, as conflicts are analysed as a reflection of social ills, which can be addressed by bringing about change and social justice,” says Dr Peacock.