Policing

• Author: B. De Oliveira,L. Artz
• Pages: 177-205
• DOI: 10.10520/EJC34823
• Published date: 01 January 1997
• Date: 01 January 1997

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Policing

Lillian Artz *

Barbara De Oliveira**

Introduction

There have been many significant developments in policing during 1997 and

1998. These include policy shifts, organisational re-structuring, a new policing

‘ethos’ and the development of crime-busting legislation, all designed to put

policing in the forefront of South Africa’s criminal justice transformation. A

lack of organisational co-ordination and a critical dearth of human and fiscal

resources, however, have obstructed the success of this transformation.

More specifically, the South African Police Service (SAPS) has been heavily

criticised for not dealing adequately with race and gender transformation,

both internally and in terms of the provision of services to civil society. In

particular, the rising levels of reported rape and domestic related assaults, as

well as increased media attention on experiences of secondary victimisation of

complainants by criminal justice agents, has left civil society with little

confidence in the ability of the police to confront and combat violence against

women.

The focus of this chapter is to specifically examine organisational

transformations that the police have undergone with respect to gender, and to

a lesser extent, race, during the years 1997 and 1998. It begins with a profile of

the South African Police Service’s initiatives surrounding gender and race

equity within the SAPS. Key policy developments and legal reforms relating

to the policing of violence against women are introduced, followed by an

* BA (Simon Fraser University, Canada), BA Hons (UCT) MA (UCT), Chief

Researcher and Lecturer, Gender, Law and Development Project, Institute of

Criminology, UCT.

** LLB (Natal), Masters Student in Human Rights and Democratisation at University of

Padna. Ms De Oliveira contributed the sections on Human Rights and Policing and

the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD).

Artz and De Oliveira

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assessment of SAPS strategies in managing gender-based violence.1 The

Chapter also examines the SAPS Human Rights and Policing project and the

role of the Independent Complaints Directorate, a statutory body established

to investigate complaints against members of the SAPS.

Organisational Transformation in the SAPS

Gender Equity and Development

Although the SAPS have put several systems in place to ensure gender and

race equity within the police, the gender and race profile of the SAPS has not

changed significantly over the past couple of years, and has shifted only

marginally since before the 1994 elections.2 In order to address some of these

imbalances, a number of programmes were put in place during 1997 and 1998.

The Representivity and Equal Opportunity Programme (REOP) of the

SAPS was set up to ensure that previously disadvantaged groups were

adequately represented and equipped for policing within the SAPS. The

objectives of REOP for 1997 included:

(i) organisational needs assessments;

(ii) skills audits to determine developmental needs;

(iii) enhancing equality of opportunity through the development and

empowerment of personnel; and

(iv) developing and implementing effective measures to eradicate

discriminatory behaviours and practices.3

The Equality Project of the SAPS was also established during this time. The

project involved workshops on equality by the Change Management team4 in

all of the provinces, as well as ‘equality checklists’ that were distributed both

to national and provincial offices. Questionnaires were also completed by

police personnel, who were asked to identify discriminatory practices. The

findings of this research remains an internal police document.

1 For a general overview of policing developments and strategies in 1997 and 1998, see

South African Survey (1997/1998) and (1999/2000), the ICD Annual Reports

(1997/1998) and (1998/1999), and ‘Freedom and Security’ in the Human Rights

Reports (1997 and 1998) published by the Human Rights Committee.

2 B Grant Gender and Policing: Report on Workshop by the Centre for Criminal

Justice and Lawyers for Human Rights 1993: 2.

3 Annual Report of the South African Police Service 1996/7: 35.

4 See ‘Policing’ in the South African Human Rights Yearbook 1996.