Throughout South Africa problems with policing have been exacerbated by the poor public image of the police which results from previous problems with apartheid policy and its brutal implementation and is reinforced by the current increase in crime within the country. The result has been a tendency to "blame crime and violence on the police rather than adopting a broader understanding of the whole problem". This distrust has fuelled both vigilantism and the privatisation of justice with an increase in private security, kangaroo courts, and other extra-judicial responses to crime.

Possibly one of the most serious consequences of weak public confidence in the police is the drop in both police morale and the inclination to provide excellence in service. The situation in South Africa is critical and the lack of a culture of training and lifelong learning in the police service is contributing to the problems of an organisation which is demotivated and fragmented.

As a result of this the relationship between police and community is often fraught with difficulty and so a significant portion of the IPT's work has been in the area of facilitating dialogue between Communities and SAPS in the area of Community Police Forums. This process starts with training of the individual groupings in order to establish common ground-rules for dialogue and a common understanding of conflict resolution and problem solving processes.

This is followed by the facilitation of joint sessions which aim to build trust and eventually lead to the establishment of joint structures for the facilitation of common developmental solutions.

For further information about IPT Community Policing Projects please contact us click here.