Khadija Magardie
Poor salaries, lack of adequate training and increasing attacks on its members continue to plague the ranks of the South African Police Service (SAPS).
These issues, with the threat posed by privatisation to workers in the public service, dominated the agenda of the fourth national congress of the country’s largest police union, the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru), held in Mpumalanga this week.
For three days Popcru members deliberated over obstacles to speedy and effective policing. Not surprisingly, in the week of negotiations between government and the public sector unions, remuneration was a major discussion point.
But the 60 000-strong union, which also represents staff in the departments of correctional services and traffic, devoted its congress to tackling internal problems that prevented the police from doing their jobs.
According to Popcru president Zizamele Cebekhulu, many law-enforcement officials are demora-lised they perform difficult and dangerous tasks with little organi-sational support, dwindling resources, and for low pay.
This situation is not helped by the fact that South Africa has one of the highest rates of police killings in the world.
According to the Centre for the Analysis and Interpretation of Crime Information of the SAPS, 1 474 attacks on policemen have occurred since 1994. At least 173 members were murdered 114 of whom were killed while off duty.
The salaries they get are hardly commensurate with the risk involved. Although SAPS members receive benefits as well, such as a housing subsidy and medical aid, Cebekhulu says the average take-home pay of a constable is about R1 000. Operational officers, who comprise the bulk of the SAPS, can expect to bring home about R4 000, after deductions. Despite this, he said, the ranks of the SAPS were still swelling with people who wanted to join, simply because they are unemployed.
Speakers at the conference tackled the slow pace of transformation within the force. Though the SAPS has historically had a majority of black officers, their appointments have been predominantly within the lower ranks.
The congress also addressed the rise in HIV infections among SAPS members. Cebekhulu said operational police were regularly exposed to the risk of contracting the virus when arresting wounded suspects; so are those police who work in the government mortuaries
Cebekhulu said Popcru had no knowledge of an HIV/Aids occupational exposure policy within the SAPS that would ensure workers had access to anti-retroviral drugs, at the state’s expense, should they contract the virus in the line of duty.