Spotlight: Supporting SA's new police leadership

The ISS is engaging with police leaders to help police become more professional and effective.

Published on 20 July 2016 in Impact

‘If you want to help improve policing, it makes sense to have contact with the generals who run the police’, says Gareth Newham, head of the Governance, Crime and Justice division at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).

In May, the ISS hosted South Africa’s acting police commissioner and five of his senior police generals at a seminar on the shake-up currently underway in the South Africa Police Service (SAPS). The event was one of many exchanges the ISS has with leading decision makers on peace and security matters, in South Africa and across the continent.

‘Lt Gen Khomotso Phahlane’s appointment as acting national commissioner heralds a new era for policing in South Africa’, says ISS Senior Researcher Johan Burger. Since taking up the top job in October 2015, Phahlane has earned the respect of his colleagues by tackling under-performance and going back to basics. ‘With 28 years of policing experience, he’s well placed to succeed’, says Burger.

Phahlane's approach enables the ISS to extend its long-standing relationship with the SAPS

Phahlane’s approach enables the ISS to extend its long-standing and productive relationship with the SAPS. After a difficult period in which the now suspended SAPS national commissioner showed little interest in working with civil society, the ISS is ready to assist the new crop of generals.

One example of this collaboration is the invitation to ISS from the Head of Training at SAPS to participate in discussions about professionalising the police. The police’s new National Research Unit has also approached the ISS in an effort to build links and cooperate with research institutions. Along with these undertakings, the ISS provides a range of publications on practical aspects of police performance that can assist SAPS’ top brass to improve policing in South Africa.

Strong leadership in the police is key to building trust between officers and the public, and to better policing overall. ‘We want to help SAPS become more effective and efficient; to do their job well, and consistently so’, says Burger. Building relations with Phahlane and his management team is an important step in achieving this goal.

For more information, contact:

Johan Burger, ISS: [email protected], +27 82 822 0962

Picture: ©Jacqueline Cochrane/ISS