WeeklySA_AdminEthics: Attention must be devoted to promoting ethical behaviour to rebuild confidence in the Police
By Monk Nkomo
Necessary attention should be devoted in promoting ethical behaviour and accountability within the South African Police Service where some members were implicated in the scourge of corruption that was plaguing the country.
‘’ It is not enough to demonstrate that we are prosecuting SAPS members guilty of corruption. We have to instil a culture of honesty and integrity in the police. Alongside measures to protect whistleblowers, implementing the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and strengthen accountability, we have to urgently look at strengthening the fundamentals of policing ’’, said President Cyril Ramaphosa .
Addressing the 2025 Policing Summit in Ekurhuleni, the President added that corruption was a scourge that had left no aspect of society, including the SAPS members, untouched.
‘’ Respect for the rule of law and of the authority of the State is a cardinal priority for this Summit. Instilling a culture of ethics forms part of wider efforts to professionalise the SAPS. This includes programmes to attract the right calibre of candidates to the SAPS through a rigorous selection process as well as providing opportunities for training, education and career development.’’
The President said it was their expectations that the Summit would devote the necessary attention to promoting ethical behaviour, accountability and measures to rebuild confidence in law enforcement.
Safeguarding the nation’s safety and security required that the police remained proactive, innovative and solutions-oriented in their approach. As a frontline service, the police should interface with the communities daily. As such, the police needed to be guided by the Batho Pele principles of high service standards, consultation, equal access to services and treating citizens with respect, dignity and empathy.
‘’The SAPS mission is to investigate and prevent crime and ensure that offenders are brought to justice; to counter threats to community safety and security and importantly, to participate in efforts to address the root causes of crime’’.
Ramaphosa said crime was both a cause and a symptom. Communities, he added, were the most potent resources for fighting crime. Crimes happened in communities and criminals were often known to communities.
A clear plan was needed on how to better involve communities in crime prevention and detection and on harnessing the potential of CPFs in line with relevant legislation and regulations. Citizens must be empowered to actively participate in crime prevention efforts through collaboration, awareness and community-driven initiatives to create safer neighbourhoods.
‘’ If the SAPS is to fulfil its crucial mandate, we have to emerge from these few days with a clear plan on how to address the systemic deficiencies that are negatively impacting policing . As a country, we owe the SAPS our full support.’’
Ramaphosa stressed that crime was the cause of insecurity and instability in communities. It weakened the social fabric. Crime also had a direct impact on the economy. It discouraged investment, disrupted business activity and led to increased security costs for companies. Crime was also a symptom of wider problems in a society.
‘’Poverty and inequality, unemployment, lack of opportunity, patriarchy and misogyny and broken family structures are just some of the issues that contribute to crime and criminality. Addressing crime without understanding its root causes is like a doctor treating a patient for a fever without diagnosing the underlying illness. It is therefore encouraging that this Summit has as one of its key objectives adopting a more holistic approach to law-enforcement, encompassing not just the police but the entire policing system’’.
Ramaphosa said it was encouraging that this Summit brought together stakeholders from the safety and security establishment, communities and civil society, business, the interfaith sector, labour and other sectors. Just as crime was an all-of-society problem, overcoming crime must be an all-of-society effort.
The policing terrain of today was complex and multi-faceted. The police strived to fulfil their mandate in the context of emerging threats. These threats included transnational organised crime, illegal mining, extortion syndicates, the theft of economic infrastructure, money laundering and terror financing. And yet, even in this extremely challenging environment, the South African Police Service continued to register successes in fighting crime in its various operations.
‘’To build on these successes, we need to restore public trust and faith in the police. We need to improve the relationships between the police and the communities they serve. We need to work to improve the morale of SAPS members, many of whom are battling heavy workloads, insufficient resources and outdated systems.
Even as the SAPS budget has increased over the past ten years, the reality is that the number of police personnel has been declining while the country’s population has been growing. The resources of the police are stretched extremely thin’’.
A holistic approach to policing included deepening collaboration with other government departments, such as the Department of Social Development.
It included deepening cooperation with community leaders and community-based organisations that had the capacity to tackle some of the social causes of crime.
Data played a pivotal role in policing and law-enforcement. And the police needed to apply a socio-economic lens when analysing such data. The data may, for example, reveal a community with a high prevalence of housebreaking and robbery where substance abuse was also rife. Understanding the connections revealed by this data should inform the approach to policing in that community.
A holistic policing approach would, for example, need to involve working with local authorities to enforce municipal by-laws for establishments selling alcohol. Modern technologies needed to be harnessed to support crime-fighting. Technology was particularly crucial when analysing crime trends and patterns.
‘’To turn the tide against crime, we need better collaboration among the different agencies in the law-enforcement space. There is a proliferation of organised crime in South Africa, including the manufacture of illicit drugs, kidnapping for ransom and money laundering. This is taking place alongside a growth in illegal mining, extortion in the construction sector, and the theft of public infrastructure.’’
Ramaphosa said as much as the specialised police units devoted to these particular crimes continued to register progress, they heavily relied on actionable intelligence and traditional policing and detective work.
‘’As government we remain committed to turning the tide against crime and to making our communities safer. It is our hope that the recommendations emerging from this Summit translate into deeper collaboration, more effective methods and a promising future for policing in South Africa.’’
