Towards a ‘New Professionalism’ for the South African Police Service
ABSTRACT South Africa faces significant challenges of violent crime. The country's national police agency, the South African Police Service (SAPS), is often rhetorically presented as the government's response to this challenge. In recent years calls have been made for the SAPS to become more ‘professional’. These calls have come from the government, civil society and the SAPS itself. Yet beyond a common sense interpretation, it remains unclear what ‘professional’ and ‘professionalism’ mean in relation to police in South Africa. This article explores current articulations of police professionalism in South Africa against a backdrop of the historical development of policing here. It suggests that ‘professionalising’ the use of force, supporting initiatives aimed at fostering civic cultures that demand fair, polite and efficient service from police, and better defining the police role, will have a positive ‘professionalising’ effect on the SAPS. Furthermore, it suggests that there needs to be a continued shift of focus away from the police as the primary provider of safety in the country, towards a networked approach to safety generation that incorporates other government and community structures.