Threading the thin blue line: transition towards democratic policing and the integrity of the South African police service

Abstract

Democratising the South African police became one of the key challenges in the aftermath of the apartheid regime. We explored the contours of police integrity – one of the key elements of democratic policing – within the South African national police service. In 2005, questionnaires containing hypothetical cases of police corruption were collected from 379 police officers from seven provinces and autonomous territories. Compelling evidence was found that the South African Police Service (SAPS) faces severe challenges to its integrity. A non-trivial percentage of respondents did not recognise even the most severe forms of police corruption as violations of official rules. The respondents expected relatively mild discipline to be meted out for some of the most severe violations of official rules. The empirical evidence further indicates that a substantial minority of SAPS supervisors would protect many forms of police corruption from exposure. Moreover, the respondents hired after apartheid expressed attitudes associated with an even lower level of police integrity.