Álvaro Morcillo, researcher post-doctoral fellow at the Center for International development of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) presented during a seminar his research 'Crime reduction in South Africa: the procedural justice model in a diverse society'. To do so, he analyzed the data of the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS, 2011).

According to the specialist, poverty and criminality are connected in a circle in which each element is both cause and consequence of the other: "Criminality scares off investment, both foreign and national, and therefore slows growth". In this way, he pointed out that a high crime rate creates an environment that does not strengthen productive activity and also produces the migration of qualified professionals from the country, known as brain drain.

During his exhibition, Alvaro Morcillo explained some factors that reduce crime in a country, such as reducing inequalities, investing in Education, improving the legal system and fighting corruption. He also stated that the most direct way to reduce the crime rate is to improve police procedures.

In his study, he applies the procedural justice model to understand why South Africans do or do not cooperate with the police, which would help reduce the crime rate. This model combines two variables: the trust and legitimacy that people give to the country's police force. "The variable that best predicts cooperation with the police is trust," he adds.

However, he stated that these findings vary depending on the racial group , so he indicated that lawmakers should take racial differences into account when creating a way to cooperate with the police.