STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE IN DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA: A NON-JUDGMENTAL ASSESSMENT

Year 2019, Volume: 11 Issue: 2, 61 - 85, 01.07.2019

Dr Paul O. Bello Jean Steyn

Abstract

Public trust in the police is an important indicator of effective policing in a
democratic system. While this assertion holds true for most police research,
hardly any prior studies in this field explored university students’ perceptions of
the police. In light of this gap, the study on which this paper is based sought to
elucidate students’ perceptions of the South African Police Service. A quantitative
approach was adopted and a sample of 682 (n=682) participants was drawn at one
of the largest universities in South Africa for a cross-sectional survey of students’
perceptions. The specific goal was to assess whether students’ trust in the police
was shaped by their perceptions of the Police Service in general, and police
officers’ behaviour in particular. The findings indicated that students generally
had an unfavourable disposition towards the police and that this disposition
affected their trust in police officials. The findings also suggested that male
students’ perceptions of the police differed a great deal from those of female
students. In general, it was found that university students viewed the police as
unfair and corrupt and that these negative perceptions consistently engendered
mistrust in the police. These findings corroborate broader assertions that the
relationship between the police and the public in South Africa is poor and that
police brutality, corruption, and a range of other police misconducts erode public
trust in the South African Police Service. It was concluded that, if students’
perceptions have to be changed, the contributory factors to police misconduct
must be addressed as a matter of urgency. Moreover, programs that will aid and sustain positive student–police relationships should be introduced and
encouraged.

Keywords

Students, perceptions, trust, police, South Africa

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