Most South African parents who participated in a police trust survey do not have faith that the police can keep their children safe. The survey was conducted by an apolitical civil rights organisation and police watchdog, Action Society.

Action Society’s latest police trust indicator survey, “Are your children safe in South Africa?” has revealed that 98,3% of South Africans feel it is unsafe for their children to play outdoors alone.

The survey also found that most parents feel that South Africa is unsafe for children and fear they could be kidnapped.

Ian Cameron, director of community safety at Action Society, says the survey revealed that only 14% of the respondents would call the police if their child was in danger with many parents opting to call on security companies or neighbourhood watch groups to provide support.

When the majority of a country does not trust that the police can keep their children safe, it is clear as daylight that the policing model is not working

The survey further showed that only 10% of South African parents teach their children that they can trust the police.

“The government can create all the laws and plans it likes, but if no one trusts the ability of the police to protect them, the paper plans have no value, and the police service has no authority. Fix the police and the trust will return,” says Cameron.

Policing analyst Sheila Reddy says crime is a major problem in South Africa and citizens are battling to put their trust in the police because of the SAPS’ track record of inadequacy and unresolved cases.

She says that although there are many loyal and hardworking members of the SAPS, the police are generally unable to protect most citizens from crime, which is quite embarrassing to many of them.

“Only large-scale interventions that improve police professionalism will produce the types of improvements in public safety needed for economic growth and investment,” says Reddy.

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She says most parents pass down their reservations about the police to their children and recent media headlines provide insights into the type of conduct undermining the public’s confidence in the police.

Reddy says the magnitude of the problem is clear in StatsSA’s annual nationwide Victims of Crime surveys.

She said these surveys reveal that public approval of the police dropped by 10% from 64,2% in 2011 to 54,2% in 2018.