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TimesLIVE
18 hours ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
People's trust in police at ‘all-time low': HSRC
Public trust in the police has reached an all-time low, a recent study by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) has revealed. According to the HSRC's South African Social Attitudes Survey, trust in the police has declined significantly over the past two decades, with only 22% of citizens expressing trust in the police in 2022. The 2023 and 2024/25 confidence levels were almost unchanged. The HSRC spoke to between 2,500 and 3,500 people across the country. The HSRC said recent allegations of police rot by KZN police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi represented another 'decisive moment for policing in SA, the outcome of which will have a significant bearing on the project to rebuild public trust'. Mkhwanazi claimed a police investigation unmasked a syndicate controlled by a drug cartel, which allegedly involves politicians, law enforcement officials from the police, metro police and correctional services, prosecutors and the judiciary, as well as business people. He also alleged that police minister Senzo Mchunu interfered with sensitive police investigations — which has led to President Cyril Ramaphosa placing the minister on leave of absence.
IOL News
19 hours ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Why South Africans are losing faith in the police: Insights from the HSRC study
The latest HSRC study shows that public trust in police continues to decline. Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers The SAPS will have to work hard to rebuild public confidence, as the latest study shows that trust in the police continues to decline. The research conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council's (HSRC), through the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS), revealed that only 22% of citizens expressed trust in the police. This shows that trust in the police has declined significantly over the past two decades. The survey found that trust levels in the police have remained relatively low over the 1998 to 2024/25 period. Notably, during these 27 years, a majority of the adult public never expressed trust in the police, which suggests that police legitimacy has been a longstanding issue. Over the 1998 to 2010 period, the average level of trust in the police was relatively static. It ranged between 39% and 42% in all but a few years. This was followed by a sharp decline between 2011 and 2013, following the Marikana massacre of August 2012. However, confidence had almost returned to the 2011 level by the time of the 2015 survey round. The 2016 to 2020 period was characterised by modest fluctuation between 31% and 35%. The hard Covid-19 lockdown experience, which included instances of police brutality in enforcing lockdown regulations, did not appear to have had an aggregate effect on confidence levels based on the 2020 survey results. In 2021, public trust in the police dipped to a low of 27%. This appears to be linked to the July 2021 social unrest. Many criticised the poor performance of the police during the unrest. This was followed by a further 5 percentage point decline to 22% in 2022, with the 2023 and 2024/25 confidence levels almost unchanged, which may reflect increasing rates for certain crimes. Timothy Makoe, a resident of Palm Springs in Evaton, 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 never been attended to. Another resident, Teboho Maleke, said the recent allegations made by the KwaZulu-Natal commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, worsened the situation. '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 why they are failing to discipline their employees,' he said. 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 that 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 the 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. Meanwhile, South Africa has a high crime rate and is considered a dangerous country, particularly for violent crimes. According to the SAPS, 5,727 people were murdered during the first quarter of 2025, which is between January and March, 10,688 people were raped, while 11,111 common robberies, and 35,374 commercial crimes were reported. 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 have, over the years, and in many instances, abused their 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. She 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. Lancaster said for this to succeed, measurable improvements are needed in recruitment, training, performance management and accountability mechanisms. The principal investigator of the study, HSRC's Dr Benjamin Roberts, said this analysis provides context on the extent and nature of the challenge, highlighting variations and drivers of public perceptions on policing. He said the findings are expected to inform interventions aimed at restoring public faith in the police. 'The findings of this study underscore the urgent need for SAPS to prioritise building public trust and confidence. By adopting a more community-focused and accountable approach to policing, we can work towards creating safer and more secure communities for all South Africans,' he said. [email protected]
IOL News
21 hours ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Trust in SAPS hits historic low, experts call for reform and accountability
Trust in the South African Police Service has reached a historic low according to a recent study. Image: Doctor Ngcobo / Independent Newspapers Public confidence in the South African Police Service (SAPS) has plummeted to a record low, according to new findings by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), sparking renewed calls for urgent structural reforms, depoliticisation of senior appointments, and stronger accountability mechanisms. Released as part of the HSRC's 21st round of the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS), the data reveals that only 22% of South Africans expressed trust in the police in 2022, with confidence levels in 2023 and 2024/25 remaining virtually unchanged. These are the lowest figures recorded in 27 years. The study shows that public trust in SAPS has been on a steady decline since the late 1990s, with significant drops following incidents like the Marikana massacre in 2012 and the July 2021 social unrest. Despite a slight rebound around 2015, confidence never returned to previous levels and has continued to deteriorate. Recent allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi against a senior national commissioner for crime detection and Police Minister Senzo Mchunu have also dented the public's trust in the police service. 'The public simply does not feel like the police will show up when they call,' said Ian Cameron, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police. 'Many people see the police as just being an insurance reference provider and that they need to open cases for insurance purposes. That has become the general feeling amongst people when you say, 'call the police.' They'd rather call a neighbourhood watch or even private security if they can afford it.' Video Player is loading. 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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Cameron added that corruption and lack of consequences were at the heart of the problem. 'Lack of integrity management is a major crisis. The arrests and charges and infighting within the South African Police Service over the last few years has just made it far, far worse than before.' The HSRC's principal investigator Dr Benjamin Roberts noted that the survey tracks trust levels over a 27-year period and highlights persistent legitimacy concerns. 'A majority of the adult public never expressed trust in the police, suggesting that police legitimacy has been a longstanding issue,' the report stated. Chad Thomas, organised crime expert and CEO of IRS Forensic Investigations, said the deterioration of trust has its roots in leadership failures. 'There has been a deficit of top leadership for 25 years since Jackie Selebi was first appointed as commissioner of SAPS. This was a clear political appointment, as was the appointment of Bheki Cele and Riah Phiyega. None of the three had any policing experience.' He said even the appointment of career police officers in recent years has failed to restore trust, due to corruption allegations. 'Twenty-five years of ineffective and controversial leadership has resulted in the SAPS relationship with the citizenry of this land declining to a point where the trust relationship is basically broken.' Thomas believes restoring trust will require far-reaching changes. 'Politics and the police do not mix well. Appointments of senior leadership must be done via a clear and transparent process involving Parliament and civil society. Appointees must be experienced, clear of any controversy, meet the requirements of a lifestyle audit and thorough security clearance.' He further warned that without accountability, trust will remain elusive. 'Trust will be restored when we see accountability and consequences for the actions taken by bad actors within SAPS. The President should also consider appointing an Inspecting Judge of Police Services, much the same as the appointment of retired constitutional judge, Justice Cameron, who has been very effective within correctional services.' On the impact of major incidents like Marikana, the July 2021 unrest, and high-profile abuse of power cases, Thomas said: 'There will always be incidents that will lead to criticism of the police. It is their overall conduct that counts.' He controversially pointed to El Salvador's 'Bukele Model' as a policing system South Africa might study. 'The focus of this model is a tough stance on dismantling organised crime gangs and has led to a significant decrease in murder and other crimes. The problem is that criminals have too many rights in South Africa and we don't have space to house all the hardened criminals. I would suggest a state of emergency against crime and the conversion of army bases and unused stadia into prison camps.' David Bruce, a policing and criminal justice expert with the Institute for Security Studies, said the HSRC survey raises important questions. 'There are questions about the main causes of declines in trust and whether these are about poor public experiences of service delivery or related to disrespectful treatment by police or problems like corruption. Major public controversies such as the brutality by the VIP protection unit or the recent allegations about high-level corruption in the SAPS obviously don't help much either.' Bruce called for a re-evaluation of the country's entire policing model. 'There needs to be a programme of strategic strengthening of the SAPS, and it is to be hoped that the new Minister tries to carry forward work that has been done on this. However, this needs to be linked more clearly to re-evaluating the model of policing that has been implemented in South Africa.' 'South Africa's policing system is colonial in origin and needs to be grounded more fully in the reality that South Africa is a developing country that is characterised by enormous inequality,' Bruce said. THE MERCURY
The South African
2 days ago
- Politics
- The South African
Public trust in SAPS plunges to historic low
Public trust in the South African Police Service (SAPS) has plunged to a historic low, according to the latest South African Social Attitudes Survey released by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) on Monday. The survey, which has tracked public sentiment since 2003, revealed that confidence in the police has dropped to just 22%, a low that reflects growing disillusionment with law enforcement in the country. Between 1998 and 2010, trust in the SAPS remained relatively stable, averaging between 39% and 42%. However, a sharp decline followed the 2012 Marikana massacre, where police shot and killed 34 striking miners. While public confidence showed signs of recovery by 2015, the trend reversed again in subsequent years. Between 2016 and 2020, trust in the SAPS hovered around 31% to 35%, before falling to 27% in 2021 – a drop researchers link to the July unrest that year. In 2022, public confidence declined a further five percentage points, and has remained at that level since. The HSRC noted that over the 27-year period, a majority of South Africans have never expressed consistent trust in the police, pointing to a long-standing crisis of police legitimacy. The latest findings come amid renewed calls for a judicial inquiry into policing, following ongoing concerns over crime, corruption, and poor accountability within the SAPS. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
