NCJ Number
215358
Journal
Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management Volume: 29 Issue: 2 Dated: 2006 Pages: 211-225
Date Published
2006
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study explored the expectations of citizens and police members regarding present and preferred policing priorities in South Africa and assessed citizens’ perceptions of the police.
Abstract
Results indicated that citizens and police members differed regarding perceptions of present and preferred policing priorities in the areas of crime prevention, crime investigation, control, and assistance. Most police reported that their service to the community was good, while a full 47 percent of the community members who had contact with police were dissatisfied with the service they received. Most citizen complaints focused on slow response time. Other findings revealed that police officials displayed significant differences in their present and preferred perceptions of their job functions. The findings support previous research that has found community members are generally skeptical of police because they view policing initiatives as ineffective. The author recommends that steps should be taken to help the police and community develop more realistic expectations of policing and that the police should become more visible through patrols and participation in community events. Surveys were completed by 677 police and 2,153 community members who were recruited through stratified random samples of both populations in the North West Province of South Africa. The community survey measured contacts with police, neighborhood concerns, confidence in police, and expectations of police. The police survey measured perceptions about the community’s expectations. Data analysis was performed in the computer software package SAS and included the calculation of Cronbach alpha coefficients and t-tests. Follow-up studies should focus on expectations of policing in different provinces of South Africa. Tables, references