Poor leadership will hamper South African policing

Subject

South African Policing

Significance

Violent crime and insecurity are longstanding problems in South Africa. However, problems related to the appointments of senior police officials have contributed to the situation and resulted in corruption and mismanagement across South Africa’s police force. The appointment of a 30-year professional officer as police commissioner in late November was the first non-political appointment to this post since 1999. This has offered some hope that factionalism and corruption in the force’s upper ranks could be reversed under a new national president after President Jacob Zuma's departure.

Impacts

• Crime could re-emerge as a major investor concern if insecurity rises ahead of the 2019 election.
• Public trust in the force's leadership is low and unlikely to improve significantly in the short term.
• The appointment of a respected National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head will be a priority for new ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa.