South African Police Service
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- For the apartheid-era police force see South African Police.
The South African Police Service is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa.
The SAP was renamed the South African Police Service (SAPS), and the Ministry of Law and Order was renamed the Ministry of Safety and Security, in keeping with these symbolic reforms. The new minister of safety and security, Sydney Mufamadi, obtained police training assistance from Zimbabwe, Britain and Canada and proclaimed that racial tolerance and human rights would be central to police training programs in the future. By the end of 1995, the SAPS had incorporated the ten police agencies from the former homelands and had reorganized at both the national level and at the level of South Africa's nine new provinces.
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[edit] Divisions
The SAPS headquarters in Pretoria is organized into six divisions. These are the Crime Combating and Investigation Division, the Visible Policing Division, the Internal Stability Division, the Community Relations Division, the Supporting Services Division, and the Human Resource Management Division.
The Crime Combating and Investigation Division holds overall responsibility for coordinating information about crime and investigative procedures. It administers the SAPS Criminal Record Centre, the SAPS Commercial Crime Unit, the SAPS Diamond and Gold Branch, the South African Narcotics Bureau, the Stock Theft Unit, the Inspectorate for Explosives, murder and robbery units located in each major city, and vehicle theft units throughout the country. In addition, the division manages the National Bureau of Missing Persons, which was established in late 1994.
The Visible Policing Division manages highly public police operations, such as guarding senior government officials and dignitaries. Most government residences are guarded by members of the division's Special Guard Unit. The division's all-volunteer Special Task Force handles hostage situations and other high-risk activities. The Internal Stability Division is responsible for preventing and quelling internal unrest, and for assisting other divisions in combating crime. The Community Relations Division consults with all police divisions concerning accountability and respect for human rights. The Supporting Services Division manages financial, legal, and administrative aspects of the SAPS. The Human Resource Management Division helps to hire, to train, and to maintain a competent work force for the SAPS.
The SAPS Rank system consists of the following from the lowest to the highest-
Student Constable
Constable
Sergeant
Inspector
Captain
Superintendent
Senior Superintendent
Director
Assistant Commissioner
Commissioner
The SAPS currently consist of a large Reserve Division named the South-African Reserve Police Service.These members help part-time to combat crime in South-Africa.
Three police unions were active in bargaining on behalf of police personnel and in protecting the interests of the work force, as of 1996. These are the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU), which has about 15,000 members; the South African Police Union (SAPU), which has about 35,000 members; and the Public Service Association (PSA), which has about 4,000 members.
[edit] Air Wing
The South Africa Police Sevices operate a small number of fixed and rotary aircraft.
- 8 x Pilatus PC-6 Porter
- 1 x Cessna 402
- 1 x Beech 400
- 24 x Bölkow Bo 105
- 5 x MD 500D/E Defender
- 11 x Eurocopter Ecureuil
[edit] Integration and representation
Today, the force is completely integrated, but not yet fully representative of the South African population. The force's composition is:
- Black/African: 61.9%
- White: 24.0%
- Coloured: 10.6%
- Asian/Indian: 3.5%
[edit] National Commissioners of the SAPS
- Johan van der Merwe 1994-1995
- George Fivaz 1995-2000
- Jacob Selebi 2000-2008
[edit] Controversies
- On 10 September 2007 a warrant of arrest was issued by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for National Police Commissioner (and Interpol Head) Jackie Selebi. On 23 September 2007 President Mbeki suspended NPA Head Vusi Pikoli, allegedly because of "an irretrievable breakdown” in the relationship between Pikoli and Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla. However, journalists at the Mail and Guardian claim to have solid information supporting the widespread suspicion that President Mbeki suspended Pikoli as part of a bid to shield Police Commissioner Selebi.[1] According to the Mail and Guardian at 5 October 2007 the NPA is investigating Selebi for corruption, fraud, racketeering and defeating the ends of justice.[1]
- A number of community organisations and social movement have accused the SAPS of acting against them with apartheid style illegality and brutality. [2] Independent studies have confirmed this.[3]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain.
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