Abstract
In 1996 social work in the newly constituted South African Police Service (SAPS) was at a crossroad. The era of the South African Police (SAP) had ended with the promulgation of the South African Police Service Act (Act 68/1995) on 4 October 1995. The South African Police Service (SAPS) was in the process of implementing a new policy that emphasised the empowerment of personnel in the interests of effective service delivery within a transforming organisation and society. At the same time however, SAPS was facing an increase in the incidence of social problems among its 120 000 members. A choice had to be made. It was either to stick to the therapy-centred approach that had become the norm in the SAP, or try to conceptualise an alternative service-delivery paradigm. The choice fell on the latter. The result was the operationalised version of social work’s strengths approach that now forms the basis of occupational social work in the SAPS
Highlights
In 1996 social work in the newly constituted South African Police Service (SAPS) was at a crossroad
Nature and implications of the strengths-focused approach, three themes will be covered. They are, firstly, the historical factors that compelled Police Social Work Services (PSWS) to opt for this new approach; secondly, the nature and practical implications of the approach; and, thirdly, the implications that the approach will have for the organisation and South African occupational social work in general
From an analysis of the history of social work in the Police Service up to 1995 three significant trends emerged: The first was that the establishment of an independent social work service within the organisation was a long and somewhat arduous process. This could, be expected in an occupational social work setting where an ancillary service is rendered within an organisation whose core business differs from that of social work. This difficulty was compounded by the tendency of members of armed forces to mistrust occupational groups they viewed as "outsiders" (Mocke, 1991:93); Secondly, social workers were continually compelled to prove to both management and employees that their services were to the benefit of the organisation and its individual members; The third trend was that social workers focused their services almost exclusively on individual employees and their social problems
Summary
In 1996 social work in the newly constituted South African Police Service (SAPS) was at a crossroad. Nature and implications of the strengths-focused approach, three themes will be covered They are, firstly, the historical factors that compelled Police Social Work Services (PSWS) to opt for this new approach; secondly, the nature and practical implications of the approach; and, thirdly, the implications that the approach will have for the organisation and South African occupational social work in general. This difficulty was compounded by the tendency of members of armed forces to mistrust occupational groups they viewed as "outsiders" (Mocke, 1991:93); Secondly, social workers were continually compelled to prove to both management and employees that their services were to the benefit of the organisation and its individual members; The third trend was that social workers focused their services almost exclusively on individual employees and their social problems This was required from the first social workers who were appointed in the 1970s and it became part of the legacy on which the service was built up to 1995. The way that this turnabout occurred will be described in more detail below
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