AN EXPLORATION OF THE FACTORS ASSOCIATEDWITH PUBLICTRUST IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE
In order for the criminal justice system to be effective, the public must be able tohave trust in the system. The police being the first public contact of the criminaljustice system must maintain high public trust if the system is to perform itsmission to the fullest. This...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Social Sciences Research Society
2016-07-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Economics and Finance Studies |
| Online Access: | http://www.sobiad.org/eJOURNALS/journal_IJEF/archieves/IJEFS2016_2/Paper63B_Olutola_Bello.pdf |
| Summary: | In order for the criminal justice system to be effective, the public must be able tohave trust in the system. The police being the first public contact of the criminaljustice system must maintain high public trust if the system is to perform itsmission to the fullest. This will enhance police effectiveness and the legitimacy ofpolice actions.Therefore, this study explored the factors associated with publictrust in the South African Police.This secondary data analysis involved the2014/2015 South African Victims of Crime Surveyfrom Statistics South Africa.Sample size was 24,701 HHs (n=24,024 individuals). Using interviewer-administered questionnaire, information obtained included socio-demographicdata, individual and community response to crime, experience of householdcrime, citizen interaction, satisfaction with police services and trust in the SAPS.Dataanalysis included descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regressionanalysis.Of the households surveyed, 76% (n=18,827) reported having trust in thepolice and 57.0% (n = 13, 741) reported being satisfied with the police in theirareas. A significantly higher proportion of those with lower level of education hadtrust in the police than those with higher level of education (p lower than 0.001). Theproportion of participants who had trust in the police was lower in the employedthan the unemployed participants (74.9% vs. 77.2%; p lower than 0.001). Victims of crimessuch as car theft (AOR: 0.67; p lower than 0.004), housebreak (AOR: 0.84; p lower than 0.005) andmotor vehicle vandalism (AOR: 0.62; p lower than 0.001) in the last 5years were less likelyto trust the police. Those who were satisfied with the police services in their areaswere more likely to trust the police (AOR: 12.4; p lower than 0.001).Findings indicateamong many others; male participants are likely to trust the police more thanfemale. Victims of house breaking, car vandalism in the preceding five years are not likely to trust the police. Furthermore, the greater the community satisfactionwith the South African police performance; the higher the level of public trust.Itis recommended that factors negatively affecting public trust in the South AfricanPolice as identified in this paper be addressed. |
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| ISSN: | 1309-8055 1309-8055 |