The allegations levelled against senior national police executives by KZN provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi have caused the SAPS’ public trust to dip.

Zululand Observer reports that research released last Friday by the Human Sciences Research Council’s South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) shows trust levels have remained relatively low – and not once in 27 years have more than half the adult public trusted the police.

This suggests the issue of police legitimacy is by no means new.

From 1998 to 2010, the average level of trust in the police was relatively static, ranging between 39% and 42%.

This was followed by a sharp decline between 2011 and 2013, after the Marikana massacre in August 2012.

Confidence had almost returned to the 2011 level by the 2015 survey. The 2016–2020 period was characterised by modest fluctuations between 31% and 35%.

The hard lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic, which included instances of police brutality in enforcing lockdown regulations, appears to have further dented confidence, based on the 2020 survey results.

In 2021, public trust in the police dipped to an all-time low of 27%, reportedly linked to the July 2021 social unrest in KZN when many criticised SAPS’ poor performance.

This was followed by a further 5% drop to 22% in 2022, with 2023 and 2024–25 confidence levels almost unchanged, possibly reflecting rising rates for certain crimes.

The 2022, 2023 and 2024–25 figures are the lowest recorded in 27 years.

The full report and figures can be accessed here.

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