Dealing with the Use of Force and Stress-Related Violence by Members of the Police: Some Observations From Selected Case Studies in Gauteng Province, South Africa

• NCJ Number: 217074
• Journal: Acta Criminologica Volume: 19 Issue: 3 Dated: 2006 Pages: 29-63
• Author(s): A. Minnaar; D. Mistry
• Date Published: 2006
• Length: 35 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: South Africa
• Note: Downloaded January 23, 2007. To access the full text PDF: 1) select the provided PDF link; 2) from the Acta Criminologica Web site, select "Table of Contents"; 3) select the corresponding Volume and Issue (see the NCJRS abstract record for the exact Volume and Issue); 4) scroll the Table of Contents to the exact article; and 5) click on the "full text" icon.

Annotation

This study examined the use of force and violence by members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Gauteng Province.

Abstract

In order to reduce the number and severity of use-of-force incidents, this report recommends the use of stress management programs, the use of police psychologists, the institution of automatic post-incident review hearings, training in conflict mediation skills, and the identification of warning signs through performance reviews and the development of a database of use-of-force incidents. For the police officers in the sample, the most prevalent forms of the use of force were common assault (32 percent) and a shooting incident (30 percent). Data on the shooting incidents by officers did not always indicate whether a suspect was armed. Some of the use-of-force incidents were committed while the officer was off-duty. If the off-duty incident involved drunken behavior, assault, or domestic violence and did not directly impact policing activities, police managers and commanders showed little interest in becoming involved in the case. Unless a criminal charge was involved, there was no internal agency disciplinary hearing. Of the 186 officers whose files were examined, 59 were involved in 1 use-of-force incident, and 30 had been involved in 2 such incidents; 22 officers were involved in 7 incidents. An additional 22 were involved in 9 incidents. Four police officers showed an unacceptable pattern of using force and were classified as "baddies" by the researchers. This judgment was based on the number and severity of incidents. Incidents primarily involved the uniform branch (22 percent), crime prevention unit (20 percent), dog unit (14 percent), flying squad (10 percent), the public order policing unit (8 percent), and the detective branch (7 percent). The study examined selected files (n=186) that involved 853 use-of-force incidents. A 23-item bibliography and 15 notes