Most at risk:

Murder of SAPS officials


The high murder rate of South African Police Service officials shows a high level of contempt for the law and human life in South African society. Of concern is the high number of police officers killed while they are off duty. This is a complex phenomenon over which police management has little control.

There is a general consensus that police work is a high risk career. This is particularly so in South Africa considering the high levels of crime and violence prevailing in the country. Police officials are at the forefront of the on-going war against crime and therefore most at risk of violent attacks and even murder. This is illustrated by the high number of murders of South African Police Service (SAPS) officials. A total of 1411 police officials were killed between 1994 and 1999. On average 235 police officials were killed per year over the past six years. Of these most were killed off duty: an average of about 151 (64%) were killed while off duty and 84 (36%) were killed in the line of duty (Figure 1).

Figure 1 Number of police officials killed between 1994 and 1999

Source: Source: SAPS Crime Information Analysis Centre (CIAC)

Overall there has been a decrease (23%) in the number of police officers killed between 1994 and 1999. The number of police killed while off duty has been slowly decreasing whereas the number of police officers killed while performing their routine police activities remained more or less the same over this six year period (Figure 1). Although the number of police officers killed is generally decreasing, the rate of police killings remains unacceptably high at above 200 per year. This figure is very high compared to countries such as New Zealand and Australia where less than five police officers are killed on average per year.

Moreover, policing in South Africa is far more dangerous than in the United States. The rate of police officers killed while on duty in South Africa for 1999 was 76. 6 per 100000 whereas the United States rate for the same period was 21 per 100000. This implies that South African police officers are three and a half times more likely to be killed on duty than their US counterparts.

Police are also much more likely to be murdered in South Africa than the general population. On average SAPS members are three and a half times more likely to be killed than South Africans in general (Figure 2). The general population murder rate has been decreasing since 1995. However it is difficult to make a similar assertion for police murders due to limited data which makes establishing a definitive trend difficult. However the records between 1997 and 1999 show that police murder rates increased slightly in 1998 and decreased in 1999 (Figure 2).

Figure 2 Comparative murder rates per 100 000 of SA population and
SAPS members, 199

Source: SAPS Crime Information Analysis Centre (CIAC)

Provincial comparison

Trends for the killing of police officers vary substantially between provinces. The provincial statistics suggest that KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Eastern Cape have the most serious problem in this regard. The Northern Cape stands out as having the lowest number of police officers killed (Figure 3). The number of police officers killed in seven of the nine provinces showed a decline consistent with the national figures (Table 1). However, the Eastern Cape and the Free State were the exceptions. In the Eastern Cape the number of police officers killed increased by 133% between 1995 and 1999. During the same time period in the Free State the number of police killed increased by 33% and by 71% between 1998 and 1999. Although Gauteng had the highest number of police officers killed between 1995 and 1999, the province shows significant reductions in the number of police officers killed over the past five years.

Figure 3 Number of police officers killed by province 1995 - 1999

Source: SAPS Crime Information Analysis Centre (CIAC)

Table 1 Number of police officers killed by province 1995 - 1999

Province
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
% change
1995-1999
% change
1998-1999
Gauteng
107
86
82
96
69
-35
-28
KwaZulu – Natal
69
60
68
58
57
-17
-1.7
Eastern Cape
12
19
36
37
28
133
-24
Mpumalanga
11
6
15
11
8
-27
-27
Western Cape
13
13
14
12
12
-7.6
0
Free State
9
14
11
7
12
33
71
North West
10
13
8
8
10
0
25
Northern Province
9
6
9
5
8
-11
60
Northern Cape
0
5
1
1
0
0
0
Total (SA)
240
222
244
235
204
-15
-13

Ratios which measure the number of police officers killed per 100000 police members in each province provide a more accurate picture of which provinces are most affected. A provincial comparison for 1999 indicates that police officials in KwaZulu-Natal were more likely to be murdered than those in any other province. After KwaZulu-Natal, a high murder ratio among police officials was recorded in Gauteng, Eastern Cape, North West, and Mpumalanga (Figure 4).

Figure 4 Provincial murder rates for SA population and SAPS members 1994 - 1999

Source: SAPS Crime Information Analysis Centre (CIAC)

Statistics for 1999 show that in at least eight provinces, the police were at greater risk of being killed than the general population. For instance in the Free State police officers were six times more likely to be killed than the general population. In KwaZulu-Natal they were five times more likely to be killed than the general population. Northern Cape is the only province where the murder rate of the general population is larger than the rate of police officers killed. In this province a member of the general population is about twice as likely to be murdered as a police officer.

It is important to note that the Western Cape, and more so the Northern Cape, have the highest levels of violent crime and murder in South Africa. However both provinces show relatively low rates of police killings compared to other provinces. This suggests that the killing of police officers is not necessarily linked only to high murder rates in general and that in some areas police officers may be targeted by criminals.

The provincial figures for the killing of police officers while off duty and on duty are consistent with the national rates. In all the provinces a majority of the police were killed while they were off duty (Figure 5).

Figure 5 Total number of police killed on duty and
off duty by provincebetween 1995 - 1999

Source: SAPS Crime Information Analysis Centre (CIAC)

Conclusion

Murder and violent attacks directed at police officers require drastic measures both in the area of case investigation and prosecution. The Minister for Safety and Security, Steve Tshwete, has indicated that his department is working on ways of making the killing of police members a priority crime. The minister also called on the courts to impose the maximum sentence on offenders found guilt of killing police officials which, according to minimum sentencing legislation, is life imprisonment. Moreover, widespread publicity should be given to cases which result in the successful conviction of persons who have murdered police officers to send a clear warning that this type crime will be severely punished.

The high number of police officers killed while off duty is of great concern. This is a complex phenomenon over which police management has little control. However the off duty killing of police officers, like suicides amongst police officials, could be related to various factors associated with post traumatic stress disorder such as alcohol abuse, lack of patience, tension, aggression, and moodiness. Stress has a spill over effect and there is a high possibility that many of these deaths can be linked to the severe stress generally experienced by police officers. However proving a definite association requires further investigation. Such research will be pivotal for the future reduction and prevention of these deaths which constitute the majority of police killings in South Africa.

Other factors linked to these deaths could be the involvement of SAPS members in crime and corruption, easy access to firearms and a police culture which often promotes violence as a means of resolving conflict.

Sibusiso Masuku
Institute for Security Studies