Citizens’ satisfaction with the South African police services and community police forums in Durban, South Africa

Abstract

Societies’ views concerning the Criminal Justice System institutions are shaped not only by opportunities to interact with such institutions during normal work but also in part by efforts due to the larger mission (of these institutions) of encouraging and supporting such attitudes. After 1994, the new leadership in the South African Government promoted the importance of citizen-police relationships to enhance the quality of police services and, consequently, its impact on community policing. Moreover, in any democracy, the public`s attitude strongly shapes the policies and decisions of Criminal Justice System institutions such as the police. It is precisely in this context that the primary objective of this paper is to explore the Durban community`s satisfaction with the South African Police Services (SAPS) and the Community Police Forums (CPFs) in crime combating. A qualitative research approach was adopted to explore such perceptions in the study area. The findings collected through focus group discussions (FGDs) and semi-structured interviews with the community members suggest that citizens were less satisfied with SAPS and CPFs in the study area, partly owing to the perceptions of corruption and lack of trust. These findings may be used as a guide, especially by the community members and the police, to focus on issues which affect most of the community particularly those that may lead to worse results if not timeously attended to. This paper recommends that initiatives of building trust and combating corruption be jointly organised, as these can assist in police confidence by the society.