SA police serve the ANC insiders, not the people: here’s how it happened
To depoliticise the police service and redirect its attention and activities towards crime and emergencies, writes governance and public management expert Ivor Chipkin, a crucial first step is to reconsider the appointment processes for the national police commissioner and other top managers.
Under the current system the president has sole discretion, Chipkin says, which makes party-political considerations a given. Without structural changes, genuine democratic policing will remain an elusive ideal.