South Africa’s Government of National Unity (GNU) has seen the majority of its ministries experiencing a change in leadership, with the Ministry of Police now being led by Minister Senzo Mchunu, with deputy ministers Cassel Mathale and Polly Boshielo. It is a new dawn and, according to Cobus Steenkamp, a lecturer in Police Practice at the North-West University (NWU), the ideal opportunity for the ministry to invest in the professionalisation of the South African Police Services (SAPS), and also in private sector security organisations. It is an area, he feels, that has been grossly neglected.
Steenkamp says the number of personnel in the employ of the SAPS who hold tertiary-education bursaries is disproportionately small compared to the total number of employees, and says that more SAPS members should be encouraged and helped to pursue further tertiary qualifications.
“Considering that the SAPS has a personnel strength of 179 502 and that in the 2022 academic year there were only 404 continuous tertiary-education bursary holders, and only 276 new bursary applicants received bursaries between 2022 and 2023, it means that just 0,004% of SAPS personnel are tertiary-education bursary holders. We need closer cooperation between the SAPS training institutions and universities that provide police-related qualifications,” Steenkamp explains.
“Currently only one meeting takes place annually between the SAPS head office and attending universities, which is too few. Furthermore, policing within the broader field of public administration is an evolving area of academic interest, and close relationships are therefore necessary for relevant police-related curriculum development.”
He further states that funding needs to be made available for conferences with the intention to develop police-related academic discourses as well as to facilitate networking with practitioners.
“Policy development regarding promotions within the SAPS that specifically acknowledges tertiary-education qualifications as an element of career development, career enhancement and promotion must also be put centre stage.”
Then there is the question of how to integrate the technological advances of the Fourth and Fifth Industrial Revolutions into SAPS units where applicable.
Here Steenkamp advocates the provision of funds for relevant research projects relating to the application of technologies, that SAPS units should be provided easy access to relevant academic and operational research, and that the SAPS needs to be provided with a budget for pilot studies to be undertaken at unit and station or department level.
“Another issue to be addressed is that of marketing and promotion. There is an undeniable need to include tertiary education and the benefits of personal development into the orientation programmes of new trainees at the various police academies, as well as at the provincial training institutions within the SAPS structure.”
Lastly there is the concern of career development. As Steenkamp explains: “The ministry needs to provide opportunities for SAPS personnel to attend career fairs at universities to equip themselves with information on the programmes in policing that are available, and allow university personnel specialising in career guidance – for example, from the NWU – to visit SAPS training institutions to assist police officers in their decision-making on further studies. The ministry must also include programme information on police studies provided by universities in internal career development programmes, as well as at SAPS career centres.”
Cobus Steenkamp
