Why South Africans are losing faith in the police force

IOL News

10 hours ago

The Human Sciences Research Council's (HSRC) revealed that only 22% of the citizens trust the police.
Image: RON AI
Teboho Maleke, a resident of Palm Springs in Evaton, believes corruption within the SAPS has eroded public trust in the institution.
The 54-year-old added that recent allegations made by the KwaZulu-Natal commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, worsened the situation.
He said this is one of the reasons police fail to deal with crime.
Maleke said the corrupt practices also include bribery and extortion.
He made these remarks following the Human Sciences Research Council's (HSRC) study, which revealed that only 22% of citizens expressed trust in the police.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Next
Stay
Close ✕
Maleke said Mkhwanazi's allegations confirmed what he has been suspecting about police being part of the problem in society.
'This shows why these people have been failing to deal with crime in our communities. There are a lot of drug dealers around here who are well-known, but they have never been arrested. This also proved that the rot starts from the top, which explains their failure to discipline employees,' he said.
He said police failure is another reason some communities would take the law into their own hands to deal with crime.
'They are doing these things everywhere. Even during the roadblocks, they collect bribes and let some drivers either drive under the influence of alcohol or without a driving licence. This is why there are patrollers in communities to do their job, because they are not doing anything,' said Maleke.
The HSRC also stated that Mkhwanazi's allegations represent another decisive moment for policing in South Africa, the outcome of which will have a significant bearing on the project to rebuild public trust.
Mkhwanazi implicated senior SAPS officials in corruption during his recent media briefing, claiming police have failed to act on evidence tying firearms to high-profile killings, including those of prominent South African artists.
He accused Police Minister Senzo Mchunu of sabotaging critical crime-fighting efforts by ordering the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team — a unit established in 2018 under President Cyril Ramaphosa's inter-ministerial committee (IMC) to tackle politically motivated murders.
Mkhwanazi alleged that Mchunu, in collaboration with Deputy Commissioner General Shadrack Sibiya, withdrew 121 case dockets from the team in March 2025, leaving them untouched at SAPS headquarters in Pretoria, despite five being ready for arrests.
He also claimed that Mchunu was in constant communication with criminal syndicates, naming a businessman, Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala, and an associate, Mr Brown Mogotsi (also referred to as Mahodi or Maki in various statements), as key players funding Mchunu's political activities.
The survey also found that well-publicised instances of police abuse or failure can also seem to reduce public confidence, while perceptions of police corruption also had a strong, negative effect on police confidence.
Another resident, Timothy Makoe, also endorsed the study, saying police are no longer taking their job seriously. Makoe said he reported a case of fraud after his details, including a banking card, were used to open an account at the Edgars store last year, but it has been attended to.
Experts said it was deeply concerning that the public's trust in police continues to decline.
Independent crime and policing consultant, Dr Johna Burger, said the declining levels of trust and confidence in the SAPS over the last two decades were predictable, adding that the National Development Plan of 2012, Parliament's Detective Dialogue Report of September 2012 and the 2018 report by the Panel of Experts on how to strengthen and improve the SAPS are some of the reasons for this decline as none of the recommendations were implemented.
'The SAPS has, over the years, and in many instances, abused its own appointment and promotion policies, enabling them to appoint persons into senior positions for which they were not suitably qualified. The recent highly publicised appointment of a female brigadier from outside the police in Crime Intelligence is a good example.
'Also, the SAPS' internal disciplinary processes have all but collapsed, leading to a loss of accountability and demonstrating poor command and control. E.g., between 2012 and 2024, disciplinary hearings decreased by 70%. This decline led to a 483% increase in civil claims for various types of poor and unlawful conduct by its members, paid out by the SAPS,' Burger said.
Gareth Newham, head of the Justice and Violence Prevention Programme at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), said this is because there is corruption within the police and many officials who are not interested in their job.
ISS manager of the crime and justice information and analysis hub, Lizette Lancaster, said trust in law enforcement is critical for policing to succeed because they can greatly influence how a civilian interacts with a SAPS member, potentially impacting the outcome of a situation, including whether they cooperate, whether a situation escalates, or whether a person feels comfortable reporting a crime or coming forward as a witness.
Lancaster said ISS made several recommendations to strengthen policing in South Africa in 2024. These include suggestions on how to restore pride in the profession and uniform.
According to Lancaster, for this to succeed, measurable improvements are needed in recruitment, training, performance management and accountability mechanisms.
[e-mail]