Plan to boost psychological services for cops

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA Nov 24 2010 08:20


Psychological services need to be boosted within the South African Police Service (SAPS) to ensure members can fully carry out their duties, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said on Tuesday.

To ensure this happens, Mthethwa has tasked SAPS management to provide him with a full action plan before the end of the current financial year, detailing recommendations of how to do exactly that.

"The plan will have clear targets, time frames and retention strategy to assist police morale," said Mthethwa in his response to a parliamentary question on the actual and optimal number of police psychologists employed by the SAPS in each province in the past five years.

"It is common knowledge that police operate under tremendous conditions and the stress levels are often very high ... We need to have police officers who are not only physically fit, but psychologically and mentally stable."

He emphasised the risk in isolating the psychological aspects, adding that recommendations received would be speedily implemented.

Most psychologists in Gauteng
Recent analysis conducted in the department indicates that Gauteng has the highest number of psychologists at 161, followed by KwaZulu-Natal at 136, and the third being the Western Cape at 106.

The minister's spokesperson Zweli Mnisi said this was not entirely surprising as previous research showed that almost 70 percent of crime in South Africa took place in these three provinces.

The North West province had the least psychologists, at 61.

Mnisi said this could be attributed to, among other factors, a decrease in crimes or to certain extents, career moves by the psychologists to other attractive offers -- both locally and internationally. -- Sapa

MAIL & GUARDIAN

Comments by Sonny

What is the true criteria here?

SAPF top management does not believe that PTSD exists?

Is is just a political instrument used against ailing policemen/policewomen??

Stress is as true as AIDS!!

Crime is the real 'sickness' within the SAPF!

DA proposes plan to 'clean up' SAPS

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA Mar 03 2010 13:50


The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Wednesday proposed a five-point plan to "clean up" the South African Police Service (SAPS).

"This comes in the wake of seemingly increased illegal activities by police officers," DA spokesperson Dianne Kohler Barnard told a media briefing.

The DA logged 71 cases of police officers reported in the media to have been involved in corrupt or illegal activities over the past six months.

The charges included rape, theft, drug smuggling, physical assault and kidnapping.

These reports illustrated a broader problem affecting the security services -- a failure to exemplify the attitude and values that defined the rule of law, Kohler Barnard said.

The DA's discussion document proposed five measures to tackle the "culture of impunity" and strengthen South Africa's efforts to build a better, more trustworthy police service.

Firstly, the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) was the police watchdog, but its recommendations were largely ignored by the police, with the SAPS following only 10% of its recommendations.

The ICD needed to be bolstered to allow proper oversight and accountability.

Secondly, ethical and principled leadership was fundamental to any ethical and principled organisational culture, and went to the heart of any successful police service.

MAIL & GUARDIAN

CRIME MUST BE ERADICATED FROM THE RANKS AND FILE(S) OF THE SAPF!!