Director of Protection Services Unit (PSU) at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), Charles Sehlogo has proudly highlighted the institution’s focus on continuous improvement by adding to his qualifications.
The 57-year-old, who is affectionately known as “VB”, was recently conferred with the prestigious Master of Arts in Criminology within the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Zululand on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast.
Currently residing in a village that lies between Empangeni and Richards Bay, Gauteng-born Mr Sehlogo says it has been “a difficult journey” but a very fruitful one that promises to benefit DUT, as well.
He has experience as a risk assessment specialist for clients in the government space. With a background in the field of education, criminology and military, he has gained much-valued experience in the area of investigation of tradecraft. This background paved his path in the field of security, leading to his current position in campus security.
His graduation on the 14th May 2025 has reminded him of the difficulty he had experienced since 2019 wherein he was registered with Wits University for his Master of Management in the field of security.
“That was disrupted by the declaration of the COVID-19 lockdown,” he shared.
Mr Sehlogo’s study was focusing on the recovery of the widows of the Marikana Massacre.
“I could not travel to the area of research to collect data due to restrictions. The university refused to grant an extension, and I could not complete my degree,” he recalled.
“Travelling from Empangeni to Marikana was clearly a challenge due to costs, permits and the distance. I then decided to register at University of Zululand to study criminology in 2022.
“Working and studying was a difficult journey. So, the 14th May 2025 brings joy and relief to me. It also gives me encouragement to study further,” he said.
His latest study was entitled: “An empowerment strategy for crime reduction at the University of Zululand: A criminological study.”
He shared that the study investigated crime at a selected institution of higher learning and developed an empowerment-based crime prevention strategy from a criminological perspective.
He confirmed that that research is situated within the socio-spatial context of a rural university environment characterised by studentification, surrounding community poverty, and limited security infrastructure, all of which contribute to heightened vulnerability to crime.
“Persistent incidents of theft, assault, violent protest, and other forms of criminal and disorderly conduct have undermined the safety and stability required for effective teaching and learning, thereby necessitating a comprehensive and context-sensitive intervention framework.,” he explained.
He said that a qualitative research approach was adopted within an interpretive and pragmatic paradigm. Mr Sehlogo indicated that data were generated through in-depth interviews, personal communications, document analysis, field observations, and triangulation of multiple sources, including Protective Services Department (PSD) members, security experts, academics, students, administrative staff, and community representatives.
“Rational Choice Theory and Social Control Theory provided the theoretical lens through which criminal behaviour and institutional responses were analysed. The findings indicate that crime at this institution is driven by a complex interaction of environmental opportunities, inadequate surveillance, weak social controls, overcrowding in off-campus accommodation, and limited integration between university security structures and surrounding communities,” he shared.
Mr Sehlogo emphasised that existing crime prevention measures were found to be largely reactive and fragmented, lacking a coherent empowerment framework that actively involves institutional leadership, staff, students, and external stakeholders.
Based on these findings, Mr Sehlogo said that the study proposes an integrated empowerment strategy focused on proactive policing, strengthened support services, enhanced training and professionalisation of security personnel, and improved collaboration between the university, law enforcement agencies, and the local community.
“The strategy emphasises crime prevention as a shared responsibility rather than an exclusive function of security services,” he highlighted.
Mr Sehlogo emphasised that this study contributes to criminological scholarship by contextualising campus crime within a rural African university setting and offering a practical, management-oriented empowerment model for crime reduction.
“It further provides policy-relevant insights for higher education institutions seeking to create safer and more secure learning environments through participatory and sustainable crime prevention strategies. Without a doubt, the management of DUT will be proud of Mr Sehlogo’s achievements and his great commitment to individual and institutional learning,” highlighted Mr Sehlogo.
He spoke of his career at DUT which entails operating in the security environment, having discipline, professionalism, accountability, transparency, to mention a few, which form a core of the work done by security practitioners.
“The philosophy of non-confrontation as adopted by the Protection Services Unit can’t be implemented without the living values as adopted by DUT in the ENVISION2030. So, my qualification brings in valuable tradecraft to work according to the living values,” he relayed.
One of the major challenges he faced as a student was researching and working at the same time.
“Having to juggle the work reports, managing a department, assignments and family life was a huge challenge. The amount of crime, protests and time brought an interesting dynamic to the study because all the facets of the study were being observed in real time,” he said.
In the end, his family are also proud of his achievement. His family has always supported his various ventures. They supported his eagerness to study and improve his knowledge capacity.
“My mother and aunt in their old age were so excited to be part of my graduation. It was an exhilarating moment for them to be part of my graduation. They travelled all the way from Pretoria to see me graduate. My children are calling for a family gathering because my brother and sister also graduated in other universities at postgraduate levels respectively,” he expressed.
Mr Sehlogo shared that he does plan to study further. He intends to enter the space of academia and find a way of linking it to his experience and background.
“Business administration would be interesting to venture into. Criminology is not a famous course of study but a very interesting field to understand human behaviour. It is a field of study that requires more people because it opens doors in the security cluster. The example of doors includes, the police, private investigations, crime analysis, immigrations/home affairs, private security, correctional services, forensics and many others. So, avenues to find jobs are broad because there are very few people in this space,” he added.
Mr Sehlogo added that he wishes to contribute meaningfully into the DUT security space.
“Since DUT is using a blended security model, technology has to be brought to the fore to enhance the security of the university. Being a university of technology, we need to bring in the technology that begins to lower cost due to the use of warm bodies. Technology has to enhance and advance security and reduce crime at DUT,” he concluded.
Pictured: Director of Protection Services Unit (PSU) at DUT, Mr Charles Sehlogo is conferred with the prestigious Master of Arts in Criminology within the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Zululand.
