Coping With Stress Within the SAPS
blurb:isstoday:27022008sapsstress
27 February 2008: Coping With Stress Within the SAPS
‘Blood splattered dockets lay strewn around the detective’s office at Kagiso police station in Krugersdorp after four policemen were shot dead by a senior policeman on Monday night. Their deaths followed the deaths of three women and a baby’ (Policemen shot by colleagues after rampage. 04/04/2006).
Stresses on police triggered 12 hours of mayhem, as an inspector committed suicide, another held his family hostage and a third was shot by colleagues and seriously wounded after threatening to kill himself’ (Cops come unstuck in 12 hours of mayhem. 01/02/2002).
Incidents such as the above have become commonplace among members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in recent years. Members are, on a daily basis, continually exposed to danger, violence and death. While there has been much criticism of police behaviour and performance, it must not be forgotten that the job of policing in South Africa is stressful in the extreme.
The reformation of the South African Police in 1994 impacted greatly on long-serving members. Some of the changes included: the transformation of the management structure of the SAPS, the integration of homeland states police forces and the incorporation of Umkhonto we Sizwe members into the SAPS, the institution of Resolution Seven (a process aimed at accelerating the effectiveness of service delivery and fast-tracking representivity), and the introduction of new policing concepts like community policing. In addition there have been concerns over the promotion policy of the SAPS which many officers believe has been unfairly applied.
Other ongoing challenges like relationship or marital problems, alcohol related problems, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, financial difficulties, and chronic illnesses also contribute to the problem. Inadequate salaries, the pressure of overtime, shift work and weak leadership further tend to increase police exposure to multiple stress factors. This is exacerbated by the fact that many male police members believe that they have to maintain a ‘macho’ image that is pre-requisite of the job, and any sign of emotion is a show of weakness.
Stress manifests itself in many ways, and can affect a person both mentally and physically. In 1993, 700 police members were declared medically unfit and retired with stress-related psychological disorders. In 1994, 540 members left the service on psychological grounds. Between January and May 1996, 184 members were declared medically unfit for stress and depression related ailments. Unfortunately, figures on police stress seem to be a heavily guarded secret within the SAPS and more recent figures are not available.
The high rate of suicide by members of the police is another indicator of the enormous stress these public servants operate under. Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula revealed that there were 508 police suicides between 1997 and 2001. This is equivalent to 110 out of every 100 000 policemen killing themselves. In 1996, the figure was 200 suicides per every 100 000 members. By comparison, the United States of America in 1996 recorded only 22 police suicides for every 100 000 members.
In 1998 the SAPS issued a national instruction on ‘Debriefing of Employees who have experienced Traumatic Incidents’. Following the policy set out in this instruction, for any member of the SAPS who has been involved in an incident that requires debriefing, specific procedures must be followed. The commander of the employee at the incident must be informed of the incident and he or she must ensure that the report of the incident is submitted to the debriefer within 12 hours of the incident occurring. Alternately, the commander can undertake the initial debriefing or the employee can liaise directly with the debriefer. Apart from the initial debriefing, an employee also has recourse to formal debriefing, either within the organisation or outside of it. However, an employee cannot be compelled to attend formal debriefing sessions.
The National Instruction on Employee Assistance Programme, issued in 2002, is also directed at managing work-related stress issues. The instruction aims to assist with the early detection and resolution of a problem, in order to prevent further deterioration of the situation and to restoring the employee back to his or her previous level of work.
Despite the above options, the issue of debriefing is a serious challenge for police management. Debriefing is voluntary and a member cannot be compelled to attend. The fear of displaying emotions and the risk of exposure and stigmatisation prevents many members from taking advantage of the counselling that is available. It is also questionable whether most members are even aware of the existence of the instructions discussed above.
SAPS members are shouldering a great burden given the high crime rate in South Africa, their frequent exposure to violence and death, the increasing number of police suicides, and the fear that they or a colleague may be killed. The management of the SAPS therefore has a responsibility to ensure that members are utilising the debriefing options that are available, both for the benefit of the service and, ultimately, for the welfare of the South African public.
Bilkis Omar, Crime and Justice Programme, ISS Tshwane (Pretoria)
