At the root of all new policing approaches is the ever-present quest to find best practices to prevent and reduce crime, to improve the safety of communities and individuals and to enhance the delivery of all kinds of police services to communities. Police practice and policy, inclusive of standing orders, force orders, directives and other forms of guidelines and instructions, have undergone many changes over the years, especially after the constitutional changes in 1994 when community policing and 'rights-based' policing became the foundation of democratic policing in South Africa.
On 13 January 2014, an innovative policing approach, namely sector policing was officially 're'-introduced to police stations. National Instruction 3/2013: Sector Policing was rolled out to 1 138 police stations for implementation. Minimum implementation criteria were determined in an effort to assist all police stations to implement sector policing. As a fundamental part of community policing, sector policing is seen as the enabling mechanism which organises and mobilises individuals in communities to establish the driving force in providing a more effective and person-centred service to the community. As such, sector policing is also a step towards the development of a modern, democratic policing style to meet the safety and security needs of every inhabitant of South Africa at local level.
Although research on sector policing in South Africa is scant, the available research can be divided into three eras: Era 1 concerns research on 'non-official' sector policing from 1998 to 2009; Era 2 concerns research on National Instruction 3/2009 on Sector Policing from 2009 to 2013 and Era 3 concerns research since the implementation of National Instruction 3/2013 on Sector Policing. The current study pioneered research in terms of National Instruction 3/2013 on Sector Policing. The researcher aimed to gauge the perceptions of South African Police Service (SAPS) officials responsible for sector policing in Limpopo province with regard to the official implementation of sector policing according to National Instruction 3/2013 guidelines.
The qualitative research approach was used with the purpose of exploring and describing the phenomenon being studied. Basic research was conducted by using a qualitative collective case study design. The exploration of the cases took place through semi-structured interviewing, a detailed in-depth data collection method. The researcher used the semi-structured interview schedule as research instrument to guide interviews. The non-probability sampling design was used. The selection of the sample depended on the purposive sampling design. During critical case sampling, as a type of purposeful sampling, the researcher purposefully selected and obtained information from the 10 station commanders and 20 sector commanders, from five rural and five urban police stations situated in the five districts of Limpopo province. A rural and an urban station were selected from each district. Data was collected and then processed through analytical procedures, into an understandable, insightful, trustworthy and original analysis. The technique that was used to analyse interviews was interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Some of the data was also presented in a descriptive statistical form to support the qualitative presentation of the data.
The current study originated from personal interest but, it was also deemed important by SAPS and the researcher was requested by the Division: Visible Policing to determine the level of implementation of sector policing in Limpopo province in terms of Sector Policing National Instruction 3/2013. In addition, the researcher wanted to determine the perceptions of station commanders and sector commanders regarding the value of sector policing, as a crime reduction strategy, in their relevant policing precincts. The recording of the implementation process, successes and failures as well as perceptions by police officers in this regard was helpful in constructing best practices, which might be used by provinces and police stations countrywide. The findings of the current study stimulate further research. On-going research to monitor implementation levels and to oversee the implementation of Sector Policing National Instruction 3/2013 is important to successfully implement sector policing in South Africa. The study contributed to new knowledge by describing progress made since the official inception of sector policing in South Africa. It ultimately increased literature on the topic and the body of knowledge on sector policing, especially regarding Era 3. Several recommendations for future research are made and the findings of the current study could contribute to the development of training material and the improvement of current implementation guidelines concerning sector policing in South Africa.
Onderliggend tot alle nuwe polisie benaderings is die soeke na die beste praktyk ten einde misdaad te voorkom en te verminder, die veiligheid van gemeenskappe en individue te bevorder en dienslewering aan die gemeenskap te verbeter. Polisiepraktyk en -beleid, met inbegrip van staande orders, magsorders, bevele, riglyne en instruksies, het die afgelope jare baie verander, veral ná die konstitusionele veranderings in 1994 toe gemeenskapspolisiëring en polisiëring wat op regte gefundeer is, die basis van demokratiese polisiëring in Suid-Afrika geword het.
Op 13 Januarie 2014 is ? innoverende polisiërings-benadering, naamlik sektor polisiëring, amptelik weer by polisie-stasies ingestel. Sektorpolisiëring Nasionale Instruksie 3/2013 is na 1138 polisie-stasies uitgestuur vir implementering. Minimum implementerings-kriteria is vasgestel ten einde alle polisie-stasies behulpsaam te wees met die implementering van sektor- polisiëring. Sektor-polisiëring as ? fundamentele deel van gemeenskapspolisiëring, word beskou as ? meganisme waardeur individue in gemeenskappe georganiseer en gemobiliseer word om die dryfkrag te vestig vir die voorsiening van ? meer doeltreffende en mens gerigte diens aan die gemeenskap. Sektor-polisiëring is ook ? stap in die ontwikkeling van ? moderne, demokratiese polisiëring-styl met die doel om op plaaslike vlak in elke inwoner van Suid-Afrika se behoefte aan veligheid en sekuriteit te voorsien.
Hoewel navorsing oor sektorpolisiëring in Suid-Afrika beperk is, kan die beskikbare navorsing in drie eras verdeel word: die eerste era sluit navorsing in oor 'nie-amptelike' sektor-polisiëring van 1998 tot 2009, die tweede era sluit navorsing in oor Sektorpolisiëring Nasionale Instruksie 3/2009 van 2009 tot 2013 en die derde era sluit navorsing in sedert die implementering van Sektorpolisiëring Nasionale Instruksie 3/2013. Die bestaande studie fokus op die derde era en het die weg gebaan rakende navorsing in terme van Sektorpolisiëring Nasionale Instruksie 3/2013. Die navorser het gepoog om die persepsies te bepaal van SAPD-beamptes wat verantwoordelik is vir die implementering van sektor-polisiëring in Limpopo-provinsie ingevolge die riglyne van Sektorpolisiëring Nasionale Instruksie 3/2013.
Die kwalitatiewe navorsings-benadering is gebruik met die doel om die verskynsel wat bestudeer is te ondersoek en te beskryf. Basiese navorsing is onderneem met behulp van ? kwalitatiewe kollektiewe gevallestudie-ontwerp. Die ondersoek van die gevalle het plaasgevind met behulp van semi-gestruktureerde onderhoudvoering, ? deeglike data-insamelings-metode. Die navorser het die semi-gestruktureerde onderhoud-skedule as navorsings instrument gebruik om die onderhoude te rig. Die nie-waarskynlikheidsteekproefontwerp is gebruik. Die keuse van die steekproef het op die doelgerigte steekproef-ontwerp berus. As vorm van doelgerigte steekproefontwerk het die navorser 10 stasie-bevelvoerders en 20 sektor-bevelvoerders van vyf stedelike en vyf plattelandse polisie-stasies geleë in die vyf distrikte van die Limpopo-provinsie doelgerig uitgesoek. ? Stedelike en plattelandse polisie-stasie is uit elke distrik gekies. Data is versamel en in 'n verstaanbare, insiggewende, betroubare en oorspronklike analise verwerk. Die interpretatiewe fenomenologiese analitiese (IPA) tegniek is aangewend om die onderhoude te analiseer. Sommige van die data is ook in ? beskrywende, statistiese vorm aangebied om die kwalitatiewe aanbieding van die data te ondersteun.
Die motivering vir die huidige navorsingstudie het ontstaan uit persoonlike belangstelling en dit was ook as belangrik beskou deur die SAPD en die navorser is derhalwe versoek deur die sigbare polisiëringsafdeling om die implementeringsvlak van sektor-polisiëring in Limpopo-provinsie ingevolge Sektorpolisiëring Nasionale Instruksie 3/2013 vas te stel. Dit was ook vir die navorser belangrik om stasie- en sektorbevelvoerders se persepsies van die waarde van sektorpolisiëring as misdaadvoorkoming-strategie in hul onderskeie polisiëringsgebiede vas te stel. Die optekening van sowel die implementasieproses, sukses en mislukkings as die persepsies van polisiebeamptes in hierdie verband het bygedra tot die formulering van beste praktyk wat gebruik kan word deur provinsies en polisiestasies landwyd. Die navorsings-bevindings van die onderhawige studie kan verdere navorsing stimuleer. Volgehoue navorsing om die vlak van implementering te monitor en oorsig van die implementering van Sektorpolisiëring Nasionale Instruksie 3/2013 is belangrik om sektor-polisiëring in Suid Afrika te implimenteer. Die navorsing het bygedra tot nuwe kennis ten opsigte van sektor-polisiëring deur die vordering wat reeds gemaak is sedert implementering in Suid Afrika, onder die loep te neem. Die studie dra by tot uitbreiding van literatuur en die inhoud oor sektor-polisiëring, veral ten opsigte van Era 3. Verskeie aanbevelings vir toekomstige naorsing word gemaak wat benut kan word vir die ontwikkeling van opleidings-materiaal en die verbetering van bestaande implementeringsriglyne rakende sektor-polisiëring in Suid Afrika.
