an analytical assessment of police killings in south … · presentation an analytical assessment...
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PRESENTATION
AN ANALYTICAL ASSESSMENT OF POLICE KILLINGS IN SOUTH AFRICA
by Mpho Kwinika, President of the South African Policing Union (SAPU)
September 2019
1. INTRODUCTION
Attacks on and the murder of police officials remains an emotional issue in spite of a general
understanding that policing is a dangerous occupation. We see this in the individual and
collective public reaction and the general condemnation every time a police official is
murdered irrespective of the circumstances of the incident. We also continue to see this
reaction notwithstanding the fact that police murders have decreased by 68% since the
advent of democracy in 1994, from 265 murders to 85 in 2017/18.
Public reaction and condemnation of police murders can probably also be linked to a
perception that if the police themselves are not safe, how can we rely on them to keep us
safe. In the same vein therefore an attack on the police is seen indirectly as an attack on us,
the public. Consequently, it could be argued that in order for us to be safe we also need to
contribute towards improving the safety of our police.
In this regard it is interesting to note the many similarities in relation to police killings in the
United States of America (USA), a country known for its so-called cop killings. According to a
comprehensive study published in March 2019 the USA also experienced a decline of more
than 80% in what they term 'felonious' deaths of police officials, from 52 per 100 000 in 1970
to an average of 10 per 100 000 in the last five years.1 They achieved this decline in police
murders over a period of more than 40 years whereas we, in spite of a decrease of 68% over
a period of 24 years, are still at 56 police murders per 100 000. Given these ratios it could be
argued that a South African police official is almost 6 times more likely to be murdered than
his or her counterpart in the USA.
The American study also cites an important and quite relevant observation from a 2015-
report by the USA President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing:
The “bulletproof cop” does not exist. The officers who protect us must also be protected
against incapacitating physical, mental, and emotional health problems as well as against
the hazards of their job. Their wellness and safety are crucial for them, their colleagues,
and their agencies, as well as the well‐being of the communities they serve.2
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In the explorative analysis that follows the presentation will look briefly at some of the more
significant interventions over the past 24 years aimed at reducing and preventing police
murders in South Africa, as well as an assessment of the current situation. This will be
followed by an analysis of suggested and speculative comparisons of possible links between
rising crime rates, increases in police numbers and police killings.
2. HISTORIC OVERVIEW OF INTERVENTIONS TO REDUCE POLICE MURDERS
The 24-year history of the South African Police Service (SAPS) was characterised by ever-
present concerns about police safety and sporadic interventions to curb the killing of police
members. These interventions were led by SAPS management in the form of new instructions,
changes to training programmes, the issuing of bullet-proof vests, and so forth. Some of these
interventions will be dealt with in more detail below but two major events in this regard
require specific reference, i.e. the establishment of the National Multi-Disciplinary
Committee (MDC) in 1999 and the Summit Against Police Killings in 2011. These events
produced a wealth of research and enhanced our understanding of the reasons for the
attacks, the weaknesses that allow it and possible solutions.
As background to the discussion that follows it is necessary to present the annual number of
police officials murdered in South Africa since 1994 (Figure 1). In spite of the apparent
decrease, in particular during the first 12 years, these figures show the harsh reality of police
murders in this country and also provides some perspective to the discussion.
Figure 1: Police officials killed: 1994 - 2018 (general trend)
2.1. National Multi-Disciplinary Committee (MDC) - 1999
The persistent and extremely high number of police killings became one of the most
disturbing features of post-1994 democratic South Africa. The number of murders fluctuated
between 265 and 237 during the five years between 1994 and 1998, and only dropped below
265
240 222
244 237
187178
139150
10894 95
108 107 105 10193
81 84 77 86 7983 85
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200 in 1999/2000 when 187 police murders were recorded. At that time there were
approximately 100 000 police officials in the SAPS and therefore, also expressed as a ratio,
187 police officials per 100 000 were murdered in the 1999/2000 reporting period. This is
more than 3 times the current rate in South Africa and more than 18 times the current rate
in the USA.
In an article by Professor Anthony Minnaar* in 2003, at the time attached to the Institute for
Human Rights and Criminal Justice at the Technikon Southern Africa, the overall perception
amongst police officials was that the SAPS was extremely reluctant to do anything about the
violent attacks on them.3 This perception gained further momentum when then Deputy
President Thabo Mbeki, during the political campaigning for the 1999 general elections, was
reported in the media as having said at a rally in the Western Cape that the murder of police
officials can be attributed largely to the fact that they were corrupt and involved with
criminals. This was subsequently denied by his office, but the damage was done and the South
African Policing Union (SAPU) as well as other members of the SAPS expressed their
indignation at these remarks.4 The general feeling was that there was no evidence to link the
attacks on police officials to any allegations of criminal conduct by them.
The outcry that followed Deputy President Mbeki's alleged remarks came at a time when
there were renewed and widespread concerns about the ongoing high number of police
murders and as well as the reasons why the police were being attacked. In response to these
concerns the then Minister of Safety and Security, Sidney Mufamadi, in May 1999 appointed
a National Multi-Disciplinary Committee (MDC), with a Research Sub-Committee [hereafter
referred to as research committee] to investigate the reasons behind the attacks on members
of the police. The research committee was also instructed to investigate what could be done
to improve the protection and safety of all police officials.5
In order to answer some of the research questions such as reasons for the attacks the
research committee applied various methods including focus-group interviews. These
interviews provided a number of opinions and perceptions about the reasons for the attacks,
and some of the more pertinent reasons are listed here:6
Inadequate training: This has much to do with firearm training, proficiency and skills,
including the handling of firearms during arrests, crime scene situations or the lack of
safeguarding of firearms.
Poor equipment and shortage of bullet-proof vests: The shortage of bullet-proof vests
and/or the type of bullet-proof vests (too heavy, cumbersome and uncomfortable) often
leads to a situation where a member does not have any kind of body armour for
protection.
* Professor Minnaar was also a member of the research sub-committee of the National Multi-Disciplinary
Committee (MDC).
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Off-duty attacks and killings: Off-duty police members often visit places of
entertainment such as shebeens where they become intoxicated or are less alert and
become easy targets for the theft or robbery of their firearms.
Theft or robbery of firearms: Police officials are known in their communities and also
highly visible (in uniform and in marked vehicles). They are therefore easily identifiable
and known to have firearms.
Attitude of criminals: Criminals have no respect for the law or for the police and have
little fear that they will be caught or successfully prosecuted.
The law is not a deterrent: Even where criminals were convicted the sentences were too
lenient to act as a deterrent.
Corruption: Corruption amongst police members was seen as a contributing factor but
at a lesser level. This, for example, referred to police officials that organised the killing
of colleagues when they perceived them as a threat such as exposing their corrupt
activities or when police officials were directly involved with criminals.
In addition to the focus-group interviews the research committee also interviewed a number
of incarcerated police murderers in order to establish the circumstances surrounding the
attacks and to determine better means of protecting police officials.7 According to these
interviews the largest number of respondents (42%) indicated that they attacked the police
in order to avoid arrest; 31% of the respondents said that they attacked the police directly for
the purpose of freeing prisoners or to rob the official's firearm; and 12% said that they
attacked the police during the commission of a crime.
Based on their research the Multi-Disciplinary Committee (MDC) was able to make a range of
recommendations aimed at addressing the reasons for the attacks on police members and
the identified weaknesses that were exploited by criminals. One of their first
recommendations was that bullet-proof vests be purchased in sufficient numbers to be issued
to operational police members especially in high risk areas. This was augmented by the
following steps that were immediately implemented:8
A standing reward of R250 000 was offered to any person for information that led to the
arrest and conviction of a suspect responsible for the murder of a police official.
An awareness campaign was launched within the SAPS.
A victim profile was circulated (particularly relevant to members in the high-risk group -
26-35 years old) that would enable members to take specific safety precautions.
A communication strategy was launched both internally and externally through which
the Personal Safety Guidelines were circulated.
All members in 'hot-spot' areas within high-risk provinces such as Gauteng, KwaZulu-
Natal, Eastern Cape and Western Cape, were to be issued with bullet-proof vests and be
compelled to wear it while on duty.
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Members operationally deployed in 'hot-spot' areas were to receive Special Weapons
and Tactics (SWAT) training.
An evaluation by Security and Advisory Services within the SAPS was launched
immediately to investigate the security levels of all police facilities in high-risk areas with
the aim of upgrading the security at these premises.
In January 2000 the national commissioner of police established a Directorate: Police
Safety within the Division: Crime Prevention (now Visible Policing) at national head
office. The directorate, which exists to this day, was created with the specific
responsibility to develop and maintain the implementation of preventative measures
aimed at the protection of members.
This was followed by a range of other recommended changes over the short and longer-term
which included the issuing of safety guidelines and instructions for the development of
provincial police safety plans in accordance with the guidelines. In addition, the following
targeted interventions were implemented:
The establishment of a Logistics Working Group to evaluate the equipment used by
members, including firearms, body armour, handcuffs, etc.
The creation of a working group to investigate personal issues such as salaries, medical
benefits, danger allowances, etc.
The tasking of the Trauma Working Group to activate a debriefing process and, with the
assistance of the SAPS helping professions, to develop specific stress management
programmes.
The development of a Tactical Policing Training course for new recruits and a three-day
Preventative Survival Tactics course for members already at police stations.
2.2. Summit Against Police Killings - 2011
The Summit Against Police Killings was held on 8 July 2011 in Boksburg. It came at a time
when measures resulting from the National Multi-Disciplinary Committee (MDC) were
beginning to show a meaningful impact on police killings. At the time of the MDC's
establishment in 1999 there were 187 police murders and 11 years later in 2011 it had
declined by 50% to 93 murders.
So, the question then is why have a summit to discuss police killings when the existing
interventions were showing good results? The answer appears to be twofold: Firstly,
compared to international standards 93 police murders were still extremely high and
completely unacceptable. At 60 murders per 100 000 police officials the rate of police
murders in 2011 was also almost double that of the general population which at the time
stood at 31. Secondly, in the words of then Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa, in his
welcoming speech, the ongoing focus on police safety is a 'continuation of our crusade'
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against police killings. According to Mthethwa the high level of police murders 'affect morale
whilst it also traumatizes colleagues and families'.
The summit brought together a wide range of interest groups that included not only the police
but also researchers and other academics, police unions, business against crime, civic
organisations, community police forums, the Independent Complaints Directorate (which in
2012 was replaced by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate), the Private Security
Industry Regulatory Authority, interfaith organisations, youth organisations and NGO's. All
those present signed a pledge 'to eradicate attacks on police members'. In terms of the pledge
the signatories committed themselves 'to participate in finding solutions to address attacks
on members of our police service ... [and] to intensify our efforts to eradicate such attacks.'
After a lengthy debate the summit eventually adopted a so-called 10-Point Programme of
Action which is summarised as follows:9
the need for a national awareness campaign, utilising different media platforms and
partnerships to make the killing of police officials everybody’s duty and concern;
the establishment of a Multi-Disciplinary [Safety] Committee within the SAPS to
effectively manage investigations on killing of police, counselling of families, training and
other operational aspects;
the review of the 2000 Ministerial Task Team findings on the causes of police murders
including training, the usage of bullet-resistant vests and the deployment of police
members;
the involvement of other departments within the JCPS Cluster to look into harsh
punishment for criminals who kill police officials;
the psychological and human resource support for families and colleagues of members
that were killed or murdered;
the improvement of the training of police officials;
the strengthening of partnerships with researchers;
the hosting of provincial summits aimed at engaging different provincial role players and
stakeholders;
the review of the SAPS Annual Commemoration for fallen police heroes to involve all in
society; and
to fly national flags at police stations at half-mast in honour of killed police officials.
The SAPS' Annual Report for 2011/12 provides a first brief progress report on the
implementation of the 10-Point Programme of Action, inter alia that a Multi-disciplinary
Police Safety Committee was established to ensure that the Programme of Action receives
dedicated attention.10 According to the progress report the SAPS were able to:
enhance the reporting structure on police killings;
draft guidelines to sensitise police officers on preventative measures;
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negotiate with independent researches to establish a formal partnership;
identify risks and drafted a risk mitigation plan;
distribute safety hints to create awareness and sensitise members on their safety; and
conduct a docket analysis to determine the trends and tendencies on police killings in
order to implement effective and appropriate preventative measures.
Other key activity areas in the 10-Point Plan were at that stage still being planned and most
of these were eventually implemented and reported on in the Annual Reports that followed.
From these reports and the many ad-hoc instructions over the following years it was obvious
that much of what were already identified as important for police safety was further refined
and improved upon, i.e. training, awareness, bullet proof vests, etc.
The National Multi-disciplinary Police Safety Committee continued with its efforts to improve
police safety and in the 2014/15 Annual Report of the SAPS they were for example able to
report that an Information Management Framework was implemented which requires that
incidents where police members were killed or attacked has to be reported within 12 hours
for analysis and to further inform preventative measures.11 In addition, they conducted
docket analyses of relevant cases; compiled directives and guidelines to sensitise police
officials regarding preventative measures, including safety hints; and developed a pocket
safety guide.
Some insights into the analytical work performed by the Police Safety Committee was
provided by then Minister of Police, Nkosinathi Nhleko, in a statement to the National
Assembly on 10 September 2015. In his statement Minister Nhleko pointed out that 71% of
police officials murdered were killed when they were responding to public 'needs':
45.7% of police killed last year were attending to complaints (robbery, hijacking
and cash-in-transit);
11.4% while affecting or during evading of an arrest;
5.7% conducting searches of persons and motor vehicles;
5.7% pursuing suspects;
5.7% while attending to domestic violence complaints;
2.9% escorting suspects to police cells and;
2.9% were victims of attack on the police stations.
So-called random killings accounted for 14.2%.
It must be concluded that the continued attention of the Police Safety Committee to police
safety has shown significant and positive results although it is concerning that in the last
decade they appear to have reached some sort of ceiling (Figures 1 & 2) where the number
of police murders remained at more or less the same worrying level.
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3. CURRENT POSITION In the last two years there has been some new developments in relation to police safety which
is encouraging and which, if properly implemented, may further impact on the number of
police officers murdered every year.
In the SAPS Annual Report 2017/18 reference is made to the implementation of the National
Police Safety Plan: Back to Basics in all provinces,12 but this plan now seems to have been
replaced by the Police Safety Strategy of May 2019. The Police Safety Strategy is dated 23
May 2019 and its stated aim is 'to intensify and accelerate integrated efforts to address
attacks and unnatural deaths of SAPS employees'. It is to be reviewed every three years.
The strategy is premised on the following six pillars, each with a number of priorities:
Governance:
o To implement national Instructions/Directives
o To implement Provincial Police Safety Plans
Proactive interventions:
o Operational readiness
o Community mobilisation
o To conduct research
o To implement an information management framework
o To enhance skills development
o To ensure availability of protective and safety equipment
o To ensure safe and secure state transportation for employees to and from work
o To promote enhanced availability of tactical information/intelligence
o To establish and maintain partners
o To implement a communication plan (impacting on all pillars)
Safety of police stations, buildings and infrastructure:
o Assess, review and enhance the safety requirements of existing police stations,
buildings and premises, including new structures
Reactive interventions:
o To prioritise cases of attacks on the police through a dedicated investigation
capability to restore confidence in the CJS and serve as a deterrent
o Effective investigation
o Effective intelligence
o Enhanced criminal justice
Redress and support interventions:
o To ensure employee support and assistance
Monitoring and evaluation:
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o To improve the governance framework
o To address non-compliance with national instructions and standing orders
Two other important features of this strategy must be pointed out: Firstly, it captures and refines most of the measures/interventions that were adopted and implemented since 1999 in a single document (strategy); and secondly, similar to the approach highlighted in the American study, it acknowledges the fact that police officials are lost not only to violent crime such as murder but also to non-criminal activity in the line of duty such as vehicle accidents. In that sense the Police Safety Strategy is aimed at enhancing police safety in all circumstances where officials may be exposed to risk. This strategy is another crucial development towards advancing the 'crusade' to save police lives and deserves all our support. 4. AN ANALYSIS OF TRENDS AND POSSIBLE CORRELATIONS The final analysis is about the numbers and what it tells us. This analysis is based on a comparison of the number of police murders over the last 24 years with the number of police officials in the SAPS over the same period. In addition, police murder trends are also compared with general murder trends in South Africa. The intention with these comparisons is to see if there are any clear correlations between the various trends and to determine whether and to what extent the safety measures as mentioned in this paper have contributed to the decline in police killings. Figure 2: Police officials killed: 1994 - 2018 (different trends)
The numbers shown in Figure 1 shows that police murders in South Africa decreased substantially (60%) between 1994 and 2018. However, the same numbers also point to an intriguing change in the downward trend. In the first 12 years since 1994, the decline was
265
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244 237
187178
139150
10894 95
108 107 105 10193
81 84 7786 79 83 85
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quite dramatic but in the last 12 years, since 2006, the trend slowed to a decline of 'only' 21% (Figure 2). There was also a strange periodic increase in the number of murders between 2006/07 and 2009/10 (highlighted in green) which remains unexplained. However, the numbers also appear to show that the drop in police killings have reached some sort of ceiling. The American study shows a similar trend to which they refer as reaching a 'plateau'. This phenomenon also warrants further consideration. Figure 3: Number of SAPS members: 2002/03 - 2017/18
Quite often questions are asked about the relevance and impact of safety measures implemented by the SAPS to protect its members. It is also argued that the trends in police killings are largely influenced by trends in violent crime in general and by the number of officials deployed. The rationale seems to be that because of the high risk of policing any
Figure 4: Growth in number of SAPS members compared to number murdered
102737 106177 107791 114241 121938137079 144543 150513 154073 156721 154792 153116 150950 151834 151651 150791
102737
150791
Growth in number of police officials: 2002/03 - 2017/18
150
85
Number of police officials murdered: 2002/03 -2017/18
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increases in violent crime would increase the risks to policing and also that increases in the number of police would similarly increase the number of police killings since there would be more police exposed to danger. The SAPS have increased the number of police officials by almost 47%, from 102 737 to 150 791 between 2002/03 and 2017/18 (Figure 3). But as shown in Figure 4 there does not appear to be any obvious correlation between the growth in police numbers over the same reporting period. In fact, although police numbers increased by 47% the number of police murders decreased by 43% from 150 murders in 2002/03 to 85 in 2017/18 (Figure 4). The argument about a possible correlation between police murders and the general murder rate also fails. Between 2002/03 and 2011/12 the general murder figure decreased by almost 28%, from 21 553 to 1 5554, but thereafter increased by almost 31% to 20 336 in 2017/18 (Figure 5). Compared to the two distinct trends in relation to murder in general, the murder of police officials declined by 43% over the same reporting period in spite of to some extent 'levelling out' over the last seven years (Figure 5). Figure 5: Trends for total RSA murders and SAPS members murdered
At this stage it is quite useful to look at more or less similar findings in the American study cited in this paper:13
One factor that does not seem to have played a clear role is violent crime at the national level. The violent crime rate increased steadily and significantly from 1970 through the mid‐1990s. At the same time, however, the number of officer deaths declined significantly. The violent crime rate began dropping significantly in the mid‐1990s and that trend persisted through 2015. During the same period, the number of officer deaths began to plateau. In simple terms, if violent crime is a proxy measure of the dangerousness of the environment in which police work, it does not seem to correlate well with actual dangerousness of the profession (measured as officer deaths) at the national level.
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Murder: RSA total
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Number of police officials murdered: SAPS
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According to the American study, 'numerous factors' have likely caused the decline in police
deaths (inclusive of both violent crime and non-violent crime such as duty-related vehicle
accidents) in the USA since the 1970's. Most important of these were improvements in body
armour enhanced training, better policy, better supervision, and technological advances, as
well as advancements in trauma care.14 The South African experience appear to be quite
similar but at the same time it poses the challenge to further improve on current practices
and to add innovative interventions to further reduce police killings.
5. CONCLUSION
The aim of this paper was to show the extent of police murders in South Africa and to provide
a short historical overview of what was done over the past two decades to reduce this
scourge. The relevant South African numbers presented in this paper and the trends an
tendencies it shows clearly supports police claims that their interventions have made a
meaningful impact towards improving police safety. Concomitantly, it shows that there is no
evidence to support arguments that there is a direct link between increases in violent crime
and police killings or between increases in police numbers and police killings.
The current police murder rate of 56 per 100 000 compared to the general murder rate of
35,2 in South Africa, shows that our police are still almost twice as likely to be killed than
other citizens. But even worse than that, it shows that a South African police official is almost
six times more likely to be murdered than his or her American counterpart.
What remains is a focus on what worked over the years and what did not, and to identify
those measures that need further attention. The consolidated approach of the recently
launched Police Safety Strategy of 2019 could be the vehicle that breaks through the current
'ceiling' or 'plateau' and therefore needs all our support.
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Notes
1 Michael D White, Lisa M Dario & John A Shjarback, 2019, Assessing dangerousness in policing, Criminology & Public Policy, Journal of the American Society of Criminology, Volume 18, Issue 1, 24 March. Available at https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12408 (accessed 17 July 2019), 15.
2 Ibid., 1.
3 Minnaar A, 2003, The murder of members of the South African Police Service: Some findings on common causes and practical preventative steps, Acta Criminologica: Southern African Journal of Criminology, Criminological and Victimological Society of Southern Africa (CRIMSA), Volume 16, Issue 3, January. Available at https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC28788 (accessed 19 July 2019), 1.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid., 6-9.
7 Ibid., 12-13. These interviews, which were conducted during January and February 2000, are discussed in a little more detail by Professor Herman Conradie, Department of Criminology, University of South Africa and also a member of the research sub-committee of the National Multi-Disciplinary Committee (MDC), in an unpublished and undated report titled 'Killing to escape arrest: The primary motive for murdering police officials in South Africa'.
8 Ibid., 18-19.
9 South African Police Service, Annual Report 2011/2012, Department of Police. Pretoria: Government Printer, 80.
10 Ibid., 81.
11 South African Police Service, Annual Report 2014/2015, Department of Police. Pretoria: Government Printer, 164.
12 South African Police Service, Annual Report 2017/2018, Department of Police. Pretoria: Government Printer, 113.
13 Michael D White, et al, 2019, 21.
14 Ibid.