Trust in South Africa’s police tanks to new low
The South African public’s confidence in the police is currently at an all-time low, with just 22% of citizens saying they strongly trust the country’s law enforcement.
This is according to research by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), which reports that trust in policing has almost halved since 1998.
The research is based on the HSRC’s South African Social Attitudes Survey series, conducted since 2003, where views on crime and policing are a thematic priority.
According to the research centre, between 2,500 and 3,200 interviews are conducted annually with participants aged 16 and up.
This data has been supplemented with public opinion surveys from the HSRC dating back to the early 1990s.
Overall, the data paints a bleak picture of how South Africans view policing in the country, with trust levels never surpassing 50%.
1998 is the first year for which data is available, and according to survey results, 42% of the country was confident in the police at the time, and 41% distrusted them.
Trust climbed to 47% in 1999 — the highest it has ever been. Similarly, distrust dropped to 37%, the lowest ever.
Despite a sharp decline in 2000, dropping to 39%, confidence levels remained relatively stagnant until the end of 2010, reaching a high of 46% and a low of 39%.
However, trust dropped dramatically between 2011 and 2013, down to 28%, attributed to the Marikana massacre of August 2012. At the same time, distrust skyrocketed to 60% in 2013.
Trust and distrust had formed a criss-cross pattern up until 2011. However, HSRC points to significant divergence between the two from this point onwards.
By 2015, public distrust in South Africa’s policing had dropped to 48%, while confidence rose to 38%.
Fluctuations again remained steady over the next five years, with distrust reaching a high of 54% and confidence a low of 31%.
However, the two again saw significant divergence following the first survey results from the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic until now.
As of 2020, confidence stood at 34%, while distrust was at 48%. Over the next few years, distrust reached an all-time high of 66% in 2023 and confidence a low of 22% that same year.
Over the reporting period, those who said they were neutral about policing fluctuated between 11% and 19% of respondents.
Ramaphosa suspends police minister
The HSRC’s report highlighted the emphasis former Police Minister Senzo Mchunu placed on building public trust in law enforcement agencies at the National Police Day commemorations in January.
“Internationally, the legitimacy of legal authorities is recognised as crucial for the state’s ability to function in a justifiable and effective manner,” it stated.
“The minister’s reflections drew attention to a persisting legitimacy challenge in the police-public relationship.”
This followed KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi directing several allegations at the South African Police Service, the Police Ministry, and other law-enforcing authorities.
Mkhwanazi accused Mchunu of sabotaging a probe into political killings by seizing 121 open case files in March and pushing to disband the team tasked with the probe. Mchunu rejected the allegations.
The accusations were followed by calls from various political parties and other stakeholders for Mchunu to be suspended, fired, or, in some cases, arrested.
A week after Mkhwanazi’s briefing, President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered a national address where he announced the formation of a judicial commission of inquiry into the allegations.
If true, they threaten to undermine the entire police service and their ability to fight crime and corruption, he said.
In addition, he said that he had placed Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on leave with immediate effect.
Ramaphosa appointed Firoz Cachalia, a former ANC politician and current law professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, to serve as acting Police Minister in the interim.
Until Cachalia can take up this position, Ramaphosa has appointed current Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe to fill Mchunu’s role.
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