PRESENTATION

BY MAGADLA AF

TOPIC

PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS POLICE BRUTALITY AT BEKELA TOWNSHIP, UGIE

WALTER SISULU UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF HUMANITIES, SOCIAL SCIENCES AND LAW DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES UNIT OF CRIMINOLOGY & ADMIN.OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Introduction Statement of the problem Research Questions Rationale for the study Demarcation of the study Research methodology Ethical considerations Discussion of the findings Conclusion Recommendations

Presentation outline

Introduction

Police Brutality in SA

EGYPT

USA

SPAIN

LYBIA

Problem Statement

The status quo is that police brutality has led to a state of anarchy between the police and civilians within the South African community, where the public has come to fear the police, contrary to the mandate of the South African Police Service which state that police are suppose to protect, preserve internal security. As a result crime prevention strategies suffer because police & public are equally an essential ingredients in CPS.

How Bekela community members perceive police brutality?

Which types of people that are perceived to be victims of police brutality at Bekela Township, Ugie?

What is the impact of the excessive use of force by police on the participation of the Bekela Township in crime prevention strategies?

Research Questions

Rationale for the study

Study of this nature

Shocking cases

Personal observation

Demarcation of the Study

Eastern Cape

Joe Gqabi District

Municipality

Ugie Bekela Township

Research Methodology

Quantitative Method

Non Experimental design (Cross-Sectional Survey Design)

90 respondentsNon probability sampling

Convenience sampling

Data Collection

Structured Questionnai

re

Closed ended

questions

Data Analysis

SPSS

Graphs Charts Percentages

Tables

Research Ethics

Informed Consent

Voluntary Participation

Confidentiality

Discontinuance

Anonymity

Theoretical Framework

Social Learning

Theory by Akers

Differential Association

Reinforcement

Modelling

Definition

The findings of the current study with regard to the phenomenon of police brutality revealed that at Bekela Township police brutality has been a daily concern.

Lack of adequate education and insufficient training had been cited by respondents as prominent factors which contribute to police brutality. This finding is supported by Police Quarterly Report (2010) which revealed that indeed officers with some college education are less likely to resort to force (58%), than those who have never attended college (68%).

The study revealed that police tend to brutalize blacks as compared to any other population group. It has also been revealed that police officers in a number of incidences use physical force against members of the class which is predominantly composed of the poor and illiterate people.

Findings

Lack of adequate education and insufficient training had been cited by respondents as prominent factors which contribute to police brutality. Police Quarterly Report (2010) reveals that indeed officers with some college education are less likely to resort to force (58%), than those who have never attended college (68%).

The study has also found that police tend to brutalize blacks as compared to any other population group. It has also been revealed that police officers in a number of incidences they use physical force against members of the class which is predominantly composed of the poor people.

The study’s findings revealed that most respondents do not report crime to the police because police do not react promptly to emergency calls, sometimes the case would in any way not receive proper attention by the police, sometimes you held the responsible person.

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The study sought to explain perceptions upheld by community members of Bekela Township, Ugie about the brutality of South African Police Service. It further focused on the impact of police brutality on the participation of the community members in crime prevention strategies. The objectives of the study were to examine the impact of the excessive use of force by police officials on the participation of Bekela Township in crime prevention strategies.

It has been found that the public is reluctant to support crime prevention strategies. Bekela town-ship is currently experiencing difficulties in working with the South African Police Service properly, due to police use of force in less extreme situations.

Amongst factors which lead to the situation is the lack of proper training for making law and order in the society and police officials are further accused of being negligent. To a large extent the habit of brutality amongst members of SAPS is attributed to traditional policing style which did not take the principle of human rights into consideration.

As a result of this apparent issue police image has been tarnished and therefore police-community relationship suffers. In essence treatment obtained from the police makes public not to be absolute willing to participate in policing decision making. Measures put in place by the Department of Police for addressing this quagmire seem not yielding positive results.

Conclusion

Recommendations

Citizens should be informed of their rights, the existence of complaint structures and as well as the procedures to be followed if they become victims of police brutality

There should be implementation of the School/Community Officer program. This will allow children and community to see the officer as a human being, teacher and police officer

working towards a community oriented policing concept

There should be implementation of programs which will keep the public informed as to what is occurring within their community and police department. The more informed

citizens are, the more supportive they become.