Public’s trust in police at all time low – survey

A SOCIAL survey conducted by civil rights organisation Action Society has once again brought into focus South Africa’s lack of trust in the SAPS.

The survey revealed that only 2% of surveyed South Africans would call the police emergency call centre 10111 first in an emergency, the while majority of people would turn to private security companies and even local neighbourhood watch groups.

Action Society community safety director Ian Cameron said: “There must be a relationship of trust between South African citizens and SAPS, but that isn’t there.

“If there was trust, communities would not hesitate to involve the police or share information to aid in crime fighting. But because that level of trust isn’t there, in fact it keeps decreasing, that is why we are starting to see instances of vigilante justice in poorer communities,” said Cameron.

He said the organisation, while trying to understand how local communities respond to crime trends, discovered that in middle-class communities people would rather approach neighbourhood watch groups for protection and emergency assistance rather than police. It is also worth noting that families in affluent communities spent their money on private security firms.

“Although we knew the level of distrust in the police was there, I don’t think we realised just how high it was. While there are various factors affecting the public’s confidence in police, ranging from non-responsiveness, corruption, and the lack of accountability, when you take into account the responses we received through this survey, it’s worrying and the issue needs urgent intervention,” Cameron said.

The survey, which is still active, asked participants four questions. Participants, were asked whether they have ever phoned 10111 in an emergency, how long they thought it would take police to arrive after making a successful call, and whether they only reported incidents for insurance purposes.

Action Society say it will be looking at how it can innovatively turn the situation around for the betterment of the South African community.