CC BY
17
THE CONTINUITY OF POLICE BRUTALITY IN POSTAPARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA
Shaka Yesufu
Department of Research and Development, University of Limpopo, Sovenga, Limpopo Republic of South Africa
E-mail: Shakazulu17@yahoo.co.uk
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8002-3074
ARTICLE INFO
Article history: Received date 29.03.2022 Accepted date 27.04.2022 Published date 29.04.2022
Section: Communication Studies
10.21303/2313-8416.2022.002408
KEYWORDS
police brutality excessive force reasonable force lethal force de-escalation assault violence abuse of power harm
ABSTRACT
The objects of this research are: First, to highlight that police brutality is still ongoing in South Africa despite the end of the apartheid regime in South Africa in 1994. Second, to explore the concept of police brutality and its definitional related concepts like excessive force, reasonable force, lethal force, and de-escalation. Third, to explore possible avenues of rebuilding citizens' loss of trust and confidence in the police.
The researcher investigated the following problems: Police excessive use of force on citizens resulting in injuries or loss of lives, understanding of reasonable force, when can police officers make use of force, a lack of proper police accountability, and citizens' lack of trust and confidence of the police.
The main results of the research are: first, police brutality is still ongoing in South Africa due to reported incidents of brutality in some instances resulting in loss of lives at the hands of the police. Second, a conceptualization of police/citizen partnership is needed in South Africa, benefits derived from community police need to be explored more for the understanding of all stakeholders. Third, the culture of promoting violence within and outside the police service needs to be addressed. Fourth, Police brutality is an abuse of power, it portrays police officers in a bad light seen by many as oppressive apparatus of the state designed to perpetuate immediate unlawful violence against citizens. The police service has a lot to do when it comes to winning the hearts and minds of citizens. Contemporary policing must respect the rights and dignity of citizens and enforce the law without fear or favour within the laid down the constitutional mandate.
The area of practical use of the research are all citizens affected by crime, police and safer communities, human rights organisations, university students and staff members of the criminal justice department.
© The Author(s) 2021. This is an open access article under the Creative Commons CC BY license
1. Introduction
Police officers always encounter conflict while on duty. They are trained on how to deal with confrontational and volatile situations. It is very important how they handle these situations in the glaring eyes of the public. Police officers globally are allowed to use reasonable force in certain life-threatening situations, but the force deployed must be proportionate to the level of threat faced. Police officers may use force reasonably and effectively to protect themselves and other members of the public from being harmed by the assailant(s). [1] investigates the reasons why South African Police Officers are so brutal. he identified the following factors as follows: poor training, negligent police management, criminal members within the police force, disrespect for the law and order, as well as disregard for internal disciplinary procedure as the main causes for the increasing police brutality in South Africa. The researcher argued that during apartheid, the issue of race was used as a motive for state repressive violence on citizens. But we are experiencing a new trend today in South Africa where in most cases both the perpetrators and victims of police brutality all belong to the same black race. The issue of racialist policing falls away in South Africa's post-apartheid era. The Marikana massacre of 34 miners, the killing of Mido Marcia in Daveyton Johannesburg, and the killing of Andries Tatane in Ficksburg, Free State support the researcher's argument that some of the happy pulling trigger officers are not all white but predominately black police officers. The researcher argues that race no longer plays much significance or serves as a decisive factor several victims of police brutality in South Africa. In 2019 alone, there were 3836 assaults opened against
the police and 393 people died as a result of police action. In the same year, another 214 people died in police custody under different circumstances ranging from suicide, natural causes, and succumbing to injuries. The researcher argues that one death too many in the hands of police considering the battered image of the apartheid policing era. The police should be doing more to win back the trust of the hoi polio.
1. 1. Objects of the research
Objects of the research are: to explore the antitrust between the police and citizen in post-apartheid South Africa. To find ways to improve police/citizen relationships.
Definitional terminologies:
a) police brutality: police brutality occurs when members of a police service use excessive force unlawfully. Brutality is the unlawful abuse of the capacity to use force. it amounts to criminally negligent uses of force on citizens [2]. Police brutality is a civil right violation that occurs when a police officer acts with excessive force on a civilian that is more than necessary. It is a force deployed beyond the force that is reasonable and prudent under prevailing given circumstances [3]. Police brutality is a conscious and venal act of the deliberate use of excessive force to deal with citizens. Police Brutality is a phrase used to describe instances of serious physical or psychological harm to civilians with an emphasis on cruelty or savageness;
b) excessive force is a situation used to describe police/public encounters where more force than is allowable is deployed when judged from a legal, professional, and police code of practice guidelines. Most excessive force is force deployed by officers deemed as an illegal force. Excess force is the use of force by police officers that cannot be justified. Law enforcement officers while carrying out their duty must always apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of firearms. Police officers may use firearms and force only if other means remain ineffective or without any promise of achieving the intended results;
c) excessive use of force refers to high rates of force which suggests that police are using force too freely without control or sanctions. Excessive force refers to what the police officer reasonably believes is necessary;
d) deadly or lethal force refers to situations in which force is likely to have devastating consequences for the victim in most case scenarios marred by the loss of lives or very serious injuries sustained. Deadly force is any force that is reasonably likely to cause death. The type of force is justified if the officer is facing imminent danger;
e) reasonable force refers to the type of force used that is commensurate to the imminent danger or threat.
The National Development Plan (NDP) 2030.
The South African government also introduced the National Development Plan 2030 which calls for a 'well-resourced professional SAPS institution staffed by highly-skilled officers who value their work, serve the community, safeguard lives and property without discrimination, protect the peaceful against violence, and respect the rights of all to equality and justice... it also calls for the demilitarisation of the South African Police Service "[4]. According to this NDP 2030 policy document it was also meant to: make the police move away from its history of brutality as a key goal of transformation after 1994. The police should be demilitarised and managed towards a professional civilian service that protects human lives and rights. The NDP 2030 also proposes that a code of professional and ethical police practice be developed, which should become part of the compulsory police training for all recruits. It recommends that a failure to pass the course on the code should result in suspension or dismissal. The code was also meant to regulate the off-duty activities of SAPS members.
The South Africa Police Service Act (No.68 of 1995) provides the following:
1. Ensure the safety and security of all persons and property in the national territory.
2. Uphold and safeguard the fundamental rights of every person as guaranteed by Chapter 3 of the Constitution.
3. Ensure cooperation between the Service and the communities it serves in combatting crime and enhancing safety.
4. Reflect respect for victims of crime and an understanding of their needs.
1. 2. Problem description of Police Brutality
1. The exigencies and nature of police work and working conditions: By exigencies of the job the researcher means certain characteristics associated with policing. Policing is not a normal 9-5 pm job. Policing has its risks, high levels of stress, hazards, and dangers. Police officers are killed both in the line and off duty [5]. Working conditions could be sometimes very harsh, especially during winter periods in countries that have the winter seasons. In most instances, it is dealt with criminal elements of society who are often very violent towards the police. In some instances, the working conditions and the shift patterns are not designed to accommodate the needs of the family. In the United Kingdom, for instance, police officers have the highest divorce rates because police shift patterns are not always designed to be amenable to officers' family needs.
2. Anger and frustration with the job. The average policeman/woman is often angry with his/herself due to lack of career progression or low pay, angry with the criminals, and also very angry with the criminal justice systems that allow criminals to ride freely at the expense of victims of crime. Some police officers would argue that it is a very daunting and demanding job to gather evidence together in court for prosecution. The court would sometimes free suspects only to be rearrested for the same crime. This becomes a very daunting task of going around in a vicious circle without an end in sight [6].
3. Little or no welfare support for police officers, the police occupational welfare units are not responsive and supportive enough to deal with the high suicide rate of police officers. In South Africa, it has been reported that police officers kill all members of their families and colleagues due to acute depression, and colleagues ignore their warning signs and cry for urgent medical help. Police culture of not wanting to be seen as a "sissy" policeman encourages a culture of dead silence not wanting to laugh at by colleagues or seen as too weak to be in the police. The Officer's depressive state of mind is kept secret until a disaster of self-harm or taking loved ones happens. The researcher having served with both the British police and South African police services argues that the welfare unit of the police is not doing enough to stop police officers from causing harm to themselves and their loved ones. The whole reluctant attitude of he is man enough to deal with situations must stop.
4. Pervasive police culture of Machismo: The police culture of machismo does not allow male police officers to show any emotions or to cry in public. Those who cry in public are seen as very weak officers who cannot take the heat in the kitchen. Policing may not be their calling but becoming social workers is more advisable for such weak officers who show emotion in public.
5. Solidarity: The coming together of a group to protect their common goal and interest. The nature of police work makes it difficult for police officers to make decisions on their own. Police officers consciously or subconsciously facilitate a culture of ' them and us. They sometimes promote the code of silence when your colleagues are knowingly doing unlawful acts. Police officers stick together come what may, it is difficult to find an officer who dares break the unofficial code of silence.
6. Government performance targets. The South African government via the Ministry of Police Department sets its annual performance targets for the police. These targets are designed in such a way to inform the policing priorities quarterly and annually. The pressure to perform has always been a source of police brutality in South Africa. The police management wanting to reduce crime in any necessary could sometimes lead to violations of citizens' rights, abuse of power, and police brutality [7].
7. Societal violent culture. The World Health Organisation defines violence as" the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community that either result in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation"[8]. South Africa is consistently among the countries with the highest levels of violence from world reported statistics with about 34.1 murders per 100,000 people per year rates of homicide in the country [9].
8. Training needs: The green paper on Policing 2013 identified several lapses in the training of police officers. One of the key areas identified was the police use of force in dealing with gatherings and public protests; it calls for better-trained police officers who are trained in crowd management. An operational paradigm shift from crowd control to crowd management [10].
9. Selection and recruitment: Attracting the right caliber of police officers is very important. Both psychometric tests, physical tests, and written tests must be applied to the selection process. It should more importantly be based on merit, not nepotism. Any police service that is based its selection criteria on merit is likely to be inept of proper police accountability and not in a position to provide reliable and effective service to the public [11]. Recruitment must focus on finding the best and training must be of a high standard. Training is an important component in developing the right type of police officer [12].
10. Ineffective complaints and disciplinary process. South Africa has an investigative oversight body called the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID). The vision of IPID is to ensure policing promotes respect for the rule of law and human dignity. The Mission is to investigate offences committed by a member of the South African Police Service; any deaths in police custody deaths as a result of police action; any complaint relating to the discharge of a firearm by any police officer; rape by a police officer, whether the police officer is on or off duty; rape of any person while that person is in police custody; any complaint of torture or assault against a police officer in the execution of his or her duties; may investigate corruption matters within the police initiated by the Executive director or his/her own, or after the receipt of a complaint from a member of the public or referred to the Directorate by the Minister or MEC or the Secretary for Police [13].
11. Judiciary lapses to convict errant police officers. One can also safely argue that the police conviction rate within the court's processes is not encouraging enough to send a clear warning to errant police officers.
12. Lack of effective use of communication. The researcher argues that the police in South Africa must explore alternative conflict resolution models in replacement of held long militaristic and confrontational approaches to dealing with volatile incidents. The author has noted that members of the public seem to be confused about the whole idea of demilitarisation a reduction of the use of firearms with a total disarming of the police. Police in South Africa is not going to be disarmed because that would mean citizens will now have to live at the mercy of the criminal elements in our society. What SAPS should consider is the reduction of police officers who carry on them lethal weapons. A suggestion is that only special duty assigned officers in specialist units must be allowed to carry firearms [14].
1. 3. Suggested solutions to police brutality
Understanding Force Continuum.
Many police training programs teach a force continuum model that starts with verbal commands and ends with deadly force [15]. Psychological force or a show of authority can be a police presence, an order either verbal or visual, or another form of coercion or deception used to gain a suspect's compliance [16]). The force continuum is a guideline representing the appropriate amount of force that should be utilized by a law enforcement officer in generic situations. It should provide a means for escalating force when the subject shows noncompliance and a means for de-escalating force when the subject complies. Each force option available to an officer carries degrees of risk specific to the option being used. The onus is on each officer to assess given situations before applying possible survival techniques in adverting injuries or loss of lives. Continuums are configured so that the natural way to move through them is a step-by-step progression in either an ascending or descending sequence. It is important to note that a use of force incident can go from addressing a passive threat to a deadly force encounter in fractions of a split second. The force continuum has a variety of levels and can be broken down into the following headings for a better understanding as follows:
a) officer presence - no force is used. Considered the best way to resolve a volatile situation. The mere presence of a law enforcement officer may deter crime or diffuse a situation. Officers dealing with incidents are always professional and non-threatening.
b) verbalisation - force is not physical. Officer issues calm non-threatened verbal commands. For example, "let me see your identity document".
c) empty hand control - officer uses bodily force to gain control of a situation. Application of soft techniques, grabs, holds, and joint locks to restrain an individual. The hard technique may involve officers using punches and kicks to restrain an individual.
d) less-lethal methods - officers use less-lethal technologies to gain control of a situation. Officers may use a baton or projectile to immobilize a combative person. Officers may use chem-
ical sprays, pepper spray, and conducted energy devices that discharge high voltage jolts of electricity at a distance.
e) lethal force - officers use lethal weapons to gain control of a situation. Should only be used if a suspect poses a serious threat to the officer or another individual. The use of firearms to stop individuals from committing a very serious crime or endangering lives [16].
De-escalation.
De-escalation training is designed to improve police-citizens interactions. It provides an avenue for police officers to explore alternative methods and less lethal ways of dealing with conflict during their line of duty. The author wishes to clarify any existing ambiguity that any of the readers may have when it comes to understanding the concept of de-escalation. First, de-escalation does not mean you lost your right to self-defense both in common and criminal law. Second, the concept of de-escalation does not mean when a suspect charges toward you with a gun or a knife you are expected to do nothing. Police officers must use/her discretion to deal with potentially violent situations. Third, each police officer's perception of danger and threats varies from one officer to another. This can be observed when an officer is facing real potential danger situations. Police officers' levels of fight or flight risk assessment cannot all be the same. Police officers are trained to look out for the warning signs, respect personal space, keep a cautious eye when dealing with members of the public, and always look out for the warning signs.
Police use of force.
Police use of force occurs when police are trying to make an arrest and the suspect is resisting it. The authors [17] explained that police always would normally follow the prescribed sequence of applying control procedures they are taught, except when suspect resistance is high in these circumstances, they deviate from the laid down procedure. Police use of discretionary powers also allows them to deploy forces as they deemed fit and necessary in any prevailing circumstances. Some split-second decisions are taken which does not give room to managers to give guidance to the officer he/she manages. The use of force is permitted by law, such as self-defense, defense of another, to prevent crime, or to effect a lawful arrest [18].
Reasonable force.
Reasonable force refers to the amount of force necessary to protect oneself or one's property. It also means a minimum amount of force necessary to effect an arrest or protect the officer under threat of facing attack. In some circumstances deemed as extremely dangerous situations, killing the attacker may be justified. The South Africa Constitutional Court had previously ruled that one is entitled lawfully to defend oneself if the attack was it was life-threatening to the defender. This law has subsequently changed with self-defense action must be relative to the prevailing circumstances one is faced during an attack. It is also important to take into cognizance what type of weapon was the attacker carrying? And as well as the value of the belongings you are protecting. Self-defense is governed by common law and the arrest of a criminal is governed by section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act, No. 51 of 1977.
The aim of the research was to highlight the ongoing police brutality in South Africa and to make the police more accountable to citizens they have sworn allegiance to serve and protect.
2. Methods and materials
The researcher relies on researching secondary data about Police brutality and carried out an extensive literature review enabling him to gather information related to the topic under study. Secondary data is a process of carrying out a systematic review of previous literature as it relates to the research topic. It relives the author the burden of participation with research participants, who to identify, access to, and limited time frame available to conduct the research. In this study, the researcher collected secondary data from previous qualitative studies relating to the research topic.
3. Results and discussions
The researcher found out the following:
1. Most of the killings arising out of police brutality were carried out by men reinforcing the police culture of machismo discussed earlier in this research.
2. The issue of race is no longer a decisive factor in cases of police brutality. Most of the perpetrators of police brutality in post-apartheid South Africa are black police officers and not white.
3. A lack of understanding between reasonable and excessive force, more importantly, when it is applicable.
4. Proper training is needed for the use of lethal weapons.
5. Lack of effective complaints and discipline process.
6. Lack of proper police accountability and efficacy of the oversight bodies of the police.
7. A more responsive welfare and psychological support for police officers
8. Crowd management training is made compulsory for police officers.
9. The lack of consequential management within the SAPS must be addressed.
The researcher discusses the issue of police-public antagonism. Some citizens are haters of the police and any person in uniform due to their past encounters with the police. They have old scores to settle with the police, they become anti-police and do not see any good in the work of the police they continue to see the police as enemies. Members of the public become anti-police especially when taking part in public demonstrations. Some attend these demonstrations fully armed with illegal firearms and different types of offence contrary to the Regulation of Gathering Act 205 of 1993. This Act places the onus of responsibilities on both the police and citizens to act responsibly within the confines of the law and not to carry any form of illegal offensive weapons during demonstrations. The researcher argues that citizens' provocative and anti-police behaviour has also led to spontaneous brutality by the police. It is difficult to see instances where the media has praised the police during demonstrations. The media displays biases for economic reasons to sell their stories. The police are always reported in a very light. This is not only happening in South Africa but in most countries of the world where there has been a confrontation between the police and the members of the public. The police as an institution should be very professional and continue to promote the principles of community policing and policing by consent. Within the last few years, police officers are killed on/off duty. The researcher condemns all such senseless killings of the police in South Africa. One can safely argue that if the police are not there to protect all of us what do we the criminals do with us?
Society or human beings cannot be expected to regulate themselves, a form of control or maintenance of law and order must be always obeyed. The researcher argues that it is high time in South Africa that citizens forgive the police for their role during the apartheid era whilst working under the control of the callous apartheid successive regimes where police were used as assassins to exterminate anyone that voiced out any opposition to them. The likes of Steve Biko, Neil Aggett, Ahmed Timol, and Dr Rick Turner were all killed by the South African Police during the apartheid era. The researcher warns that if both the police and citizens fail to work together it will be at the expense of both the citizens and police and an opportunity for the criminal to walk about freely committing crimes. Without the support of the community members, the police cannot succeed in their granted mandate to serve. A safer community result becomes a facade and very compromised safety arrangements. The police need citizens and citizens also need the police to protect. In this section of the study, the researcher looks at an incident that occurred where it was obvious that the police exceeded their mandate of policing the human right and dignity of citizens. Time and space will not allow the author to mention and explain every incidence of police brutality in South Africa since 1994 after the end of the brutal and repressive apartheid regime. For the purpose paper, the author will look at a few specific incidents of police brutality. They are as follows: Mthokozisi Ntumba 2021; Nathaniel Julies 2020, The Marikana Massacre of 2012; Andreis Tatane 2011, Emi-dio Marcia 2013 where indiscriminately force was used against citizens. The author calls for an immediate review of the use of force policy of the South African Police Service, a periodic mental fitness test for police officers deployed to carry out tactical response support. We cannot continue to think that the police regulate themselves when it comes to police brutality. It was not right to see police killing our people in the days of the apartheid and cannot be right now to see black or white police officers killing South Africans. The happy trigger murders must stop. Police officers who kill must be prepared to face the full wrath of the law. These unlawful police killings must not be allowed to continue.
Nathaniel Jules.
On Wednesday, August 26, 2020. Nathaniel Julies was shot dead by a member of the South African Police Service at Eldorado Park Johannesburg South Africa. Nathaniel was 16 years old; it was reported that the victim went out to buy biscuits from the shop, he was a mentally challenged
child who could not answer police questions after a car was reportedly stolen in the area. For reluctance to answer the police quicker enough, he was unlawfully killed. The unarmed 16-year-old who lived with Down Syndrome found himself caught up in the crossfire between the police and gang members. The police proceeded to put him inside their van and left him at a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds. The researcher argues that it is incomprehensible for the police to shoot at a victim who did not pose any danger to the police officers. This kind of killing of an unarmed and defenseless person is extra-judicial murder and should go unpunished. Self-defense as a possible criminal cannot be pleaded in the above circumstances that led to Jules's death at the hands of the police. The callousness and inhumane behavior of the police are highlighted in how they took the victim's body to the hospital and allow him to die. Police in South Africa have a long way to go in reconciling their bitter apartheid legacy of violence which has no place in democratic South Africa. At the heart of police brutality in this country is its violent past where it was normal for police to spray the backs of fleeing women and children who were running away for their lives with bullets.
Emidio Marcia.
On 26 February 2013, at the East rand in Daveyton Johannesburg video footage of Mo-zambican taxi driver Emidio Marcia beaten up by nine policemen and handcuffed to the police moving vehicle and pulled on the tar road with two heavily build policemen holding on to each one of his legs was very distasteful and sickening to fathom. It was reported that Marcia later died in police custody after being assaulted upon arrival at the police station. It shows policing at its worst. In looking at the ratio of 9:1 of the police officers who physically restrained Marcia one could easily conclude that Marcia was treated as an enemy. It defies logic the level of force used against Marcia can reasonably be justified. The author welcomed the verdict that the eight policemen ( Meshack Malele, Thamsanqa Mduli, Sipho Ngobeni, Lungisa Gwababa, Bongane Kolisi and Linda Sololo) who were charged for the murder of Marcia were finally sentenced each to 15 years in imprisonment
The Marikana Massacre 2012.
The Marikana incident of 16 August 2012 is a reminder that the South African Police has not changed or refused to change the use of excessive force in policing South Africa. 34 miners were gunned down. Violence was inherited from South Africa's dark past of the evil apartheid regime where all forms of opposition were ruthlessly crushed, and human lives wasted. The media beamed or exposed the callousness of police officers armed with deadly rifles R5 shooting miners at very close range. Some of these miners were shot in their backs running away from the police. Lonmin miners were protesting for a wage increase of 12.5%. The miners lived in squalor and unhygienic accommodation at Marikana in the Northwest Province. Lomin was a multi-national corporation making billions of rands out of mining ventures in South Africa [19].
Andries Tatane.
Andreis Tatane was born on February 22 1978. He was killed by the police in 2011 during a poor service delivery protests in Ficksburg Free State South Africa. Tatane wanted to see all his people enjoy drinkable water and not be treated as sub-humans in their own country. Police allegedly beat it up and shot him during a march on April 13, 2011, to the Setsoto Municipality offices. The motive for public discontent was that some parts of the township have been left without water supply for three years. Community roads were in a state of perpetual disrepair. A construction failed project in zone 8, a new development has left a disgusting sewage smell out into streets for many months unattended. Community members' health was at risk due to environmental pollution [20]). Following his death, eight Free State South African Police Service members were arrested on charges of assaulting and killing Tatane. The eight accused were: Nicodemus Moila, Jonas Skosa-na, Mothusi Magano, Mphonyana Ntaje, Oleboleng Mphirime, Solomon Moeketsi, Kanathasen , Munsamay, and Isaac Finger. Two of the policemen were charged with murder and the rest faced charges of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. They were all found not guilty as it was claimed that they could not be identified because of the helmets that were worn [21]. The death of Tatane highlighted the social inequalities facing South Africans. A divided society is grouped by classes or economic potential. If the elected government.
Limitation of the study: Policing is a very close-knit organisation where police officials are socialized into a code of silence culture where police officers are not willing to speak to outsiders.
The fear of being isolated by colleagues if one speaks out is pervasive in the police organisation. The exigencies of policing do not allow police officers to become isolated as the potential risk one faced if they become isolated is very grave. This study may be limited by the unwillingness of the police to voluntarily cooperate with the police.
Prospects for further research: the researcher argues that there is room for further research especially when it comes to the use of body-worn cameras to reduce physical assault of citizens and the use of technology to support policing.
4. Conclusions
Police brutality hinders the development of police/public partnerships. It affects the desired benefits of community policing. Effective policing needs the support of citizens to succeed and maintain its legitimacy. All people want is a responsive police service that they can trust and reliable enough to protect them. The South African police management must go back to the drawing to re-evaluate their policing priorities, reduce crime rates, create effective complaints and disciplinary departments, select the best candidates solely on merits, periodic training on the use of force, and make provision for rendering police culture of nugatory. Police culture and police accountability cannot go hand in hand in the police. Police accountability must take precedence over police culture. It takes a lot of courage for police officers to cry out about mental illness-related issues. Those officers who showed emotions in public are often stigmatized by their colleagues who show any sign of breaking down whilst in the line of duty. Basically, real policemen do not cry and cannot cry. They are known for their toughness, rigidity, and masculinity.
The use of brute force to police citizens may in the short term reduce crime but in the long term does not build the trust to fight crime successfully. The building up of police -a citizenship partnership is important if crime going to be reduced dramatically. The researcher calls for academic experts to be employed in SAPS as it is done globally in the USA, the UK, and Australia the researcher has travelled to these countries to see workable collaboration between the academia and the police. South Africa needs that kind of collaboration where theory informs practice for the safety of our citizens. The SAPS has become like a hypothetical duck whose body happily absorbs water shakes it off quickly dried up with relative ease with little or no effect and carries on business as usual. Justice Ian Farlam report into Marikana provides a blueprint of recommendations stating what the SAPS must do to meet the policing needs of South Africans. A very good number of these reports are ignored and not implemented even after a decade has elapsed. It is an unrealistic expectation for a person to go to a medical doctor who diagnoses his/her patient with a serious ailment, and they subsequently change their mind after the diagnosis and fail to get full medical assistance forward. The researcher concluding remarks is that the South African police must do away with police brutality associated with it from the dark days of the apartheid regime to date. You cannot separate the police from the people. History tells us that Late Sir Robert Peel one of the founding fathers of modern policing clearly postulated to us all that policing is by consent of the people.
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments I wish to express my profound gratitude and appreciation to all members of my family living with me here in South Africa and abroad. First, to my dearest wife Mrs Melbourne Kweyama-Yesufu, my dear son Earl Yesufu, and my precious two daughters Chelsy Yesufu and Brooklyn Yesufu. Thank you all for the unwavering and relentless support you have always given to me in relation to knowledge production. May God almighty the giver of all knowledge, wisdom, and intelligence continue to give us more ideas to change our world and make it a better and safer place to live. I dedicate this article to all persons who have died at the hands of the police in South Africa. Be rest assured that policing will improve and always be held accountable and reinforce the sacrosanct of human lives.
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