By Tswelopele Makoe
THIS week, the nation was engulfed with outrage as an appalling video made the rounds, showing the vicious attack of citizens by the VIP Unit members of the SA Police Service (SAPS).
The VIP policing service, which has been identified as the protection unit of Deputy President Paul Mashatile, showed eight officers violently pummelling helpless citizens.
This type of behaviour by a group of professionally trained police officers is shockingly abhorrent. What is clear here is a blatant abuse of power by members of SAPS who were assigned to protect and serve the citizens at large.
This is a frightening juxtaposition of the role of law enforcement and protection services. The actions of the officers were not only a blatant assault on those that they are assigned to protect – the citizens – but it also showed the immense potential of law enforcement to endanger our society rather than protect it.
According to the national police commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, the eight officers have since been issued with suspension letters, and a criminal case has been opened. The charges being filed are that of assault, malicious damage to property, and the pointing of a firearm, as confirmed by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
This horrendous event has certainly evoked a frightening sentiment in our society. In the past, we have come from a brutish apartheid system that systematically and institutionally weaponised law enforcement.
Even in modern, techno-centric societies of today and the notably liberal parts of the world, such as the United States, law enforcement is still known to transgress their professional duties. We need to vigorously manage the relationship between law enforcement and the general public in order to maintain a vital balance in our society.
There is absolutely no space in our society for dangerous policing; policing that is a law unto itself. As a nation, we are riddled with structural, social, and institutional challenges, and we cannot afford to fracture the bonds of our unity.
Although this matter is absolutely detestable, and is currently under investigation, it is vital that we interrogate the role of law enforcement in our society more intentionally. Policing services such as the VIP unit are specially assigned to protect public leadership. Additionally, they also have a moral, legal and ethical obligation to protect the nation’s citizens and uphold the public peace.
In this country, the discourses around policing issues are often rooted in corruption and ineffective systems. Tensions between the people and the police are often limited to strikes and public mutiny. Furthermore, when law enforcement engages in an abuse of power, it is the public or the citizens that are largely affected.
It is for this reason that the relationship between the public and the police must be continuously nourished, preserved and maintained. This requires a vehement effort on both sides and a structure of relations that is rooted in communication. It is pertinent that law enforcement understands the unique challenges and needs of the public in which it serves.
It requires a persistent flow of information regarding community affairs, events, and experiences. This will empower all SAPS members to expound on and resolve the challenges within a specified part of our society.
Societal challenges are not only unique to the area in which they exist, they are unique to the community in a particular area. When a healthy relationship between law enforcement and the public is upheld, both the society and the policing forces are empowered to tackle crimes and corruption. They can better identify the root causes of their societal challenges and address them more effectively.
The roles and responsibilities of law enforcement include but are not limited to preventing crimes, enforcing laws, providing support services, and responding to emergencies. In addition to this, police have the responsibility of upholding the public peace, conducting criminal investigations, conducting patrols, and maintaining public order.
This is an immense social responsibility that should not be taken lightly. This is a very particular role in society, where these individuals are at the forefront of public safety and, as such, are markedly vulnerable. Furthermore, the collaboration and support of the public is extremely valuable in this occupation. Specialised information, strategies and insider perspectives can mean the difference between life and death for some officers.
Upholding the relationship between the public and the police requires maintaining a deep engagement between these two entities. Collaborations and involvement of the police in civil organisations, community events, and institutional structures, such as the church and schools, drives the relationship in a positive, corresponsive manner.
Furthermore, we cannot understate the value of education and transparency in this relationship. Police data and statistics are vital in the overall perception of the police and their effectiveness in our society.
Each police department would benefit from sharing the data on their periodic departmental rates of arrests, use of force, and overall levels of resources, in order to promote transparency and accountability. This would be applicable to the SAPS’ VIP unit as well. Such a practice would ensure that there is a permanent record of the performance of all police departments, allowing for policing effectiveness to be measured specifically, and maintained.
Often, in this country, there is a tendency to overlook social issues such as those pertaining to the relationship between law enforcement and the public, but it is a pertinent relationship that guides our society and that shapes the promotion of freedom in our nation.
In this nation, there are ways to ensure that your freedoms are protected, even when transgressed by an officer of the law. Although the standard protocol encourages one to open a case with the accrual police station, others may go directly to Ipid offices, or may contact the Ipid toll-free number, or contact Crime Stop, where abuse of the law may be reported. The uppermost role of the police in our society is for protection from crime and violence. There needs to be a set of grave consequences for police who abuse their power or intentionally inflict harm in the public.
They cannot be protected by their connections to established figures. They must be thoroughly forewarned of the repercussions of inflicting harm rather than preventing it. They must be treated as any other citizen who dares to inflict violence in our society.
It is imperative that police are held accountable for their transgressions. If one cannot ethically and intentionally uphold their duties, they should be prohibited from enacting those duties.
There is a delicate balance that must be maintained between law enforcement and the public. There is a sense of respect that ought to be shared by both parties. Effective policing requires public support and collaboration. An effective society is propelled by unity, the Ubuntu sentiments on which Africanism is built.
We need to consolidate the relationship between those that follow and those that enforce the law. We need to recalibrate education, collaboration, and unity in propelling the type of society we imagine and the future we would like to actualise.
- Tswelopele Makoe is a Gender Activist and an MA Ethics student at UWC, affiliated with the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice. The views expressed are her own.