Democratic Policing – a conceptual framework to make this happen

Policing in a democracy is not the same as democratic policing and recent reports concerning the police have emphasised this. Democratic policing appears to be at least three things:

• the police uphold and protect the rule of law;
• the police are accountable, and
• the police serve the public in a manner that is procedurally fair.

The antithesis of democratic policing is regime policing. This protects governments rather than citizens; answers to a regime rather than the people; controls rather than protects populations; protects a dominant group; and remains separate from communities.

 The South African Police Service (SAPS) faces tremendous challenges and trust in the SAPS (and wider criminal justice system) is probably at an all-time low. Trust in the police serve an all-important legitimising function – without trust there can be no legitimacy. The question then becomes: How do we restore trust in the police?

 The conceptual framework to be presented is not merely intended to describe what democratic policing looks like, but rather to guide strategic planning in police organisations, including the SAPS. This relates in particular to the strategic objectives formulated in Medium Term Strategic Framework and annual performance plans with particular reference to the input variables and the outputs they need to deliver.

 The panelists are:

 Alvin Rapea – Civilian Secretariat for Police Service

Lukas Muntingh - ACJR

Jean Redpath - ACJR

Kristen Petersen - ACJR

Andrew Faull - ISS

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