Browsing by Subject "South African Police Service"

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    Investigating retention in the South African Police Service
    (2019) Zethu, Nolitha Happiness Thando; Schlechter, Anton F
    Background In order for the South African Police Service to fulfil its mandate of creating a safe and secure environment, various human, financial, and technological resources are required. Hence, the availability of adequately trained human resources is considered critical in ensuring that the South African Police Service is able to fulfil its roles and responsibilities. Without the efforts, knowledge, capabilities, and committed behaviour of its police officers, the organisation would not be able to achieve its objectives and deliver on its mandated duties. However, recent data published by the South African Police Service revealed an increase in employee turnover, particularly at senior levels within the organisation and among highly skilled/specialist staff. Due to the stringent requirements of law-enforcement positions, the recruitment and selection of police officers is a lengthy, costly and often complex process. This is even more applicable to those in senior and highly skilled and/or specialist positions. It is, therefore, of paramount importance that an effective retention strategy is put in place to curb voluntary employee turnover and thus ensure the retention of scarce skills within the police force. Aim of the Study Being able to retain and engage police officers, a scarce resource, is vital for the South African Police Service in ensuring that it is able to fulfil its legislated mandate. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to identify the push and pull factors and/or the reasons that are most commonly related to voluntary turnover among the employees of the organisation. Identification of these factors would make it possible to present recommendations and/or to propose strategies, policies and practices that could be implemented to increase the retention of skilled senior staff. Method A descriptive research design was utilised. To address the research question, copies of archived exit-interview questionnaires were obtained from the South African Police Service. When an employee tenders his/her resignation, an exit interview is conducted by a trained interviewer (typically a social worker, psychologist or chaplain). During this meeting, an exit-interview questionnaire is completed and archived. This questionnaire consists of both closed-ended and open-ended semi-structured questions. A sample of exit-interview questionnaires (n=91) that comprised questionnaires from employees who held the rank of Sergeant, Warrant Officer or Captain and who had voluntarily resigned from the Western Cape South African Police Service during the 2016/17 fiscal year was obtained. Both qualitative and quantitative data obtained from the exit-interview questionnaires were analysed. Findings The findings suggested that overall, the South African Police Service was considered a good employer. The most prevalent reason for employee turnover was found to be related to the perceived safety of individuals and the risk to employees’ lives in carrying out their duties. The reasons given for resigning from the organisation were divided into two categories, namely individual factors (i.e., related to the person) and organisational factors (i.e., related to the organisation). Individual factor variables provided by respondents as reasons to leave included health, relocation, further studies, family time, rest, long service, and age. Organisational factors included better career opportunities; business opportunities; unfair treatment; lack of recognition, promotion or advancement opportunities; undesirable working hours; and issues with leadership/management. Recommendations Based on the findings, it is recommended that an effective retention strategy is implemented within the South African Police Service that includes career development, health and wellness, reward and recognition, work-life balance, and leadership. This recommended retention strategy should value transparency and empowerment and should aim to create a workplace that is conducive to good working conditions through enhancing team cohesion; creating opportunities for learning; and improving service delivery, the quality of work life, and work-life balance.
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    Police service delivery challenges experienced by the South African police service station commanders in the Western Cape
    (2021) Mars, Lee-Ann Frances; Cameron, Robert
    South Africa is known for being a country with high crime rates. Many factors contribute to this notion. Cape Town is ranked 14th on the list of the most violent cities in the world. Furthermore, gang violence in the Western Cape is believed to be the highest in South Africa, with the South African Police Service (SAPS) considering 25 of the Western Cape's 151 police stations as gang related police stations. It is apparent that South Africa as a developing country falls short in addressing the social ills in our communities, such as continued high unemployment rates, gangsterism, and the formation of illegal partnerships due to money greed and boredom (lack of motivational support in the form of activities provided, especially among the youth). The objective of the study was to describe and analyse the police service delivery challenges experienced by Western Cape Station Commanders in the context of the crime statistics retrieved from published SAPS data. This research explored police service delivery challenges through the lens of Station Commanders from the 151 police stations in the Western Cape. Thus, the research question was formulated as follows: "What are the service delivery challenges experienced by Station Commanders at police stations in the Western Cape?" The target population comprised all Station Commanders in the Western Cape. For the data collection, a survey strategy was adopted. The data collection tool was a telephonic interview conducted in a systematic manner. The data of the profiling survey of all Station Commanders in the Western Cape Province conducted by the Department of Community Safety, were utilised to analyse the police service delivery challenges they face. The Know Your Station Commander Tool (KYSCT) is a survey tool developed with 'profiling questions' of the Station Commanders at every police station in the Western Cape. In general, limitations prohibiting police service delivery do exist from time to time, but when the lack of service delivery is experienced over long periods, it points to deep-rooted issues that need intervention, not merely observation. This study revealed that the top ten (10) service delivery challenges experienced by the Station Commanders in the Western Cape are: 1) Shortage of human resources; 2) Insufficient physical and aging resources; 3) Extended unproductive meetings; 4) SAPS 2 building and office infrastructure challenges; 5) Lack of involvement of all government departments; 6) Low morale of members; 7) Administrative-intense tasks to maintain a paper-trail; 8) Community police relations; 9) Population growth and development (police to population ratio unbalanced); and 10) Absenteeism.