Open Society Foundation for South Africa

1. Towards an understanding of citizen perceptions and experiences of police with regards to corruption Andrew Faull Crime & Justice Programme Institute for Security Studies 2nd December 2010 Open Society Foundation for South Africa

2. Objective To understand how people from different communities experienced police corruption and its effect on civilian perceptions of, and trust in police. HSRC Social Attitudes Survey, 2007: - 39% of respondents “trust” or “strongly trust” the police (so ± 60% don’t) Afrobarometer, 2008: 46% of respondents believed “all” or “most” police to be corrupt 54% trusted police “just a little” or “not at all” ISS Victim of Crime Survey, 2007: - “traffic fines” and “policing” are the spheres of government in which bribes are most often requested Open Society Foundation for South Africa

3. Methodology - 1 15 focus groups 5 each in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban Inner city, suburb, formal township, informal township, rural area 148 participants (50% men/women) Recruitment Criteria: Older than 18 Contact with police in previous year 50% of each group to have experienced something they described as police corruption (of the 156 recruited, 127 believed they’d had such an experience) Open Society Foundation for South Africa

4. Methodology - 2 Describe your ideal police official How are police officials different from this ideal? Where would you turn if you had a problem with the police? Do you trust the police generally? Why/ why not? What would make you trust the police more? What was your most recent experience with the police? Can you give an example that you personally know of where someone gave a police official something (such as money or a gift) in order to get assistance from the police official? What do you think police corruption is? Have you or anyone you know ever experienced police corruption? What happened? Did you do anything about it? What would you like the government to do to stop corruption in the police? Open Society Foundation for South Africa

5. Notions of “ideal police” In describing their ideal police official/organisation, participants described police who were: Competent, providing hassle free service Punctual Educated & trained Friendly & approachable Patient & respectful (Also: objective, committed, fit, honest, well resourced) Notably, minimal reference made to “crime fighting” Open Society Foundation for South Africa

6. “Ideal” versus the SAPS In describing SAPS officials, the majority of responses described police as: Rendering a poor service to clients Involved in corrupt or criminal deeds on a regular basis Self-interested rather than committed to their jobs Other descriptions were of police as: Biased in the their work Often drunk Uneducated Sexually harassing women (Also: violent with civilians, lacking respect & patience, unfriendly, poor drivers, under resourced) Perception of respect and service possibly more important than outcome of complaint Open Society Foundation for South Africa

7. Trust in police Almost none of of the participants said they trusted police Almost all reasons offered for not trusting police centred around four themes: Experiences of poor or unprofessional service Experiences of police crime or corruption Experiences of police sexual harassment Perceptions of police as corrupt Also: Perceptions that police commit crime, citizen misunderstanding of law/police function leading to lack of trust , experience of abuse by police or CPF patrollers , perceptions that police rape and steal , perceptions of police as self-serving, perceptions of police as drunks and drug users Open Society Foundation for South Africa

8. Improving trust in police Describing what would make them trust police more, participants said police should: do their jobs “properly” and provide a consistent service refrain from corruption be monitored by an independent body communicate better in person and with communities require more than grade 12 to be hired communities should be consulted for input when vetting new recruits Note: In giving reasons for lack of trust in police some participants described legitimate police action suggesting their should be better communication with the public on police procedures Open Society Foundation for South Africa

9. Experience of police crime - 1 Petty extortion/bribery: Most such incidents involved traffic or drinking related extortion by police Attempted bribery Three refused, but in two instances police got quite abusive Serious extortion/bribery: Closing cases for the accused, protection money for an illegal shebeen Open Society Foundation for South Africa

10. Experience of police crime - 2 Theft Theft from a corpse, theft of possessions in police custody, etc. Robbery Robbing a foreign national, robbing civilians being searched, etc. Other illegal and unprofessional conduct Sexual intimidation and harassment, torture, refusal to open dockets, etc. Open Society Foundation for South Africa

11. Knowledge of oversight/complaints structures Very poor knowledge of oversight infrastructures in SA Only one respondent had tried to report their experience of corruption, and this was unsuccessful. Most common suggestion was to report to SAPS or Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD), though neither avenue was trusted. Lawyers also seen as an avenue of complaint though few said they could afford this. The reality is that despite the appearance of impressive police oversight architecture in South Africa, it can be extremely difficult for civilians to find recourse using these channels. Perhaps people don’t know about them because they’re not worth knowing about. Open Society Foundation for South Africa

12. Suggestions for government Asked what government should do to reduce police corruption, answers centred around these themes: Arrest and make examples of police involved in criminal and corrupt activities Improve the salaries and working conditions for police Introduce hotlines and reporting centres independent of the SAPS Introduce technology to monitor police Educate the public on the role of the police Depoliticise the position of chief of police Open Society Foundation for South Africa

13. Data in context 1995, South African Police Service formed, embracing a paradigm of human rights and service oriented policing. Military ranks abandoned for civilian titles. Post-1994 perceptions of rising crime (though declining), increased feelings of insecurity 1999, Police Minister Tshwete introduced “war on crime” rhetoric, remains today 2001 onwards, “Selebi trials” and performance measurement based on reductions in reported crime SAPS budget more than doubled since 2003 2008, Deputy Minister Shabangu says “Shoot the bastards” 2010, military ranks readopted, SAPS referred to as a “force”, touted as an attempt to improve discipline, and because “wars are led by commanders”, inferring that a “forceful” approach to crime would be more effective and win more public support. Open Society Foundation for South Africa

14. Summary Despite overall reductions in crime, trust in, and perceptions of police remain fairly negative. Most participants in this study believed they had experienced corruption Numerous experiences of corruption, crime and abuse involving police Participants expressed very low levels of trust in police, largely motivated by negative experiences Participants had minimal knowledge of complaints structure, with little faith in those they did know of “Ideal police” were described as motivated, competent and resourced officials who treated the public with respect – a far cry from soldiers “waging war” on crime This data serves as a call for the creation of a more professional police service that puts service to the people ahead of a “tough on crime”, statistic-reduction based approach to policing. Open Society Foundation for South Africa

15. Thank youafaull@issafrica.org Open Society Foundation for South Africa