Public’s trust in police at all-time low

A SOCIAL survey conducted by civil rights organisation Action Society has once again brought into focus South Africans’ 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, while a 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 the 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. When you take into account the responses we received through this survey, it’s worrying and the issue needs urgent intervention,” Cameron said. |