Closing the gap between police and community

Etienne Marais

The current violence which has beset the country has no simple solution. Necessary steps include the provision of real economic opportunity, effective mechanisms for dispute resolution, the resolution of the negotiation process and the acceptance of a set of rules by which the political "contest" plays itself out.

Of vital importance in the resolution of this violence is the role of the police force. Calls have been made for unbiased, hard-nosed and effective policing – which is regarded by some as the single most urgent prerequisite for resolving the crisis.

There is no doubt that a lack of trust exists between the police and some of the major political parties. Observers and the community representatives have argued that the police continue to act in a partisan way and are failing to protect communities against attack even when given prior information. The police continue to deny many of the allegations made and have called for evidence that they do not act impartially. Whatever the truth around specific events, there is no doubt that the nature of the relationship between the police and many communities is vital for the establishment of a climate of peace and order.

In order to develop an understanding of this situation we need to look at a number of factors. Of central importance is the historic legacy of apartheid. Fundamental to the lack of trust between black communities and the police is the historical legacy of apartheid – a history where the police were obliged to enforce laws which the "policed communities" played no part in making, which were in many cases degrading, and restricting of human rights.

While the dramatic political developments of the past 17 months have been welcomed by people from all walks of life they have also created uncertainty and resistance. Many policemen appear to have welcomed the scrapping of apartheid legislation and the possibility of engaging in "classic policing" (crime control) instead of political policing.

Others are understandably confused, or even hostile at seeing their former enemies being given the freedom to campaign openly. In the context of the political conflict the police are now being required to actively protect the rights and security of ANC-aligned groups and individuals. The uncertainty about the future which characterises the current period must, in the context of demands for the resignation of Law and Order Minister Adriaan Vlok, mean that the future of the current police force is by no means clear. This uncertainty is bound to lead to resistance to change among some policemen.

The level of crime is increasing at an alarming rate (according to official figures), a situation which can be blamed mainly on the bleak economic situation and the intolerably high level of unemployment. The police force's real problem in relation to crime is the lack of community co-operation and information. For the police this is of central concern, as it is crime and not politics which is at present probably the single greatest public concern.

Against this backdrop we need to look at the problem of resources. In the first place there are quite simply far too few policemen. The number of police personnel in proportion to the total population is about 50 per cent of that in countries like Britain and the US – both of which have nothing like the level of civil strife we are experiencing.

These factors, together with the present crisis, mean that the police force is thus continuously under pressure, the brunt of which is borne by individual members of the force.

Police personnel are currently faced with highly stressful and dangerous working conditions compounded by many hours of overtime and low salaries. If we are to improve police-community relations the notion of accountability must be addressed. This means making the police force democratically accountable for its actions. In reality civilian structures do not make many decisions about how the police operate, but it is proper that the police should be sensitive to public pressure and the feelings of the communities among whom they work. It is also in the best interests of good policing that the public are directly involved in the process of policing their communities.

The police force is accountable to society by virtue of the fact that the special powers police are granted in order to enforce laws are granted by the society in order to safeguard the rights of individuals in that society. Police accountability occurs at different levels and in different ways. Internal accountability refers to the mechanisms by which individual police personnel are responsible to the code of conduct of the police force and are disciplined when transgressions occur.

Accountability to the state means that the police force is formally accountable to government as well as being accountable to the law and legal process. Community accountability refers to the mechanisms whereby the police serve the needs of specific communities and usually involve some form of liaison structure.

In South Africa formal accountability of the police force is by way of the tricameral parliament and the Minister of Law and Order. This is clearly inadequate for "the new South Africa", because regardless of how "impartial" the SAP feel themselves to be, there is obviously no substitute for creating a situation where all communities have equal access to the structures determining police policy. In a way the SAP-ANC hotline system set up under the Pretoria Minute begins to fill the gap. These liaison structures have had mixed results – the SAP complains that they have not been taken seriously by the ANC; the ANC in turn complains that the police officers "do not have the right attitude".

The SAP have historically had excellent relations with the white community. This has occurred through structures which involve the SAP and elected town councillors. The "Business Watch" system is a good example of the value of police-community co-operation.

In the black community things are more difficult. Local officials often have limited credibility, and communities are often deeply divided. In this context what is needed are police-community liaison structures comprising elected representatives of all major groupings. These should be set up not only in "trouble spots", but should occur as a matter of principle in every community.

Furthermore the police force needs to demonstrate its commitment to improving its relationship with the public by opening up its workings to greater public scrutiny. Police forces and communities have to really "get to know each other" before they can effectively begin resolving the problems that exist.

Etienne Marais is a former Researcher at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation.

In Democracy in Action, June/July 1991.

© Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation