Abstract:
Numerous police establishments around the globe, including the South African
Police Service (SAPS), have augmented the quantity of female police officials in
their staffing complement with the resolution of counteracting various of traits of
the police culture that accentuate the cynicism of and isolation from the public.
The current study asks whether the introduction of more women police officials
in the SAPS [by the organisation] assisted in counteracting the police culture traits
mentioned supra. More specifically the study asked, “Are there signs demonstrating
attitudes of police culture themes of solidarity, isolation and cynicism amongst
a random and representative sample of specifically categorised SAPS police
officials?” If so, “Are these markers gender neutral as well as change in relation to
Van Maanen’s (1975) and Manning’s (1989) stages of police culture socialisation:
[1] choice- at the start of basic police training (January 2005); [2] admittance- at
the end of ‘college’ training (June 2005); [3] encounter- at the end of ‘field’ training
(December 2005), and [4] metamorphosis- nine years after concluding basic police
training” “(June 2014). The study established that South African Police Service
(SAPS) cadets that commenced their basic training at the six basic training institutes
in South Africa (Pretoria, Chatsworth, Oudtshoorn, Graaff-Reinett, Phillippi and
Bisho) in January 2005, entered the organisation with predispositions in furtherance
of police culture themes of solidarity, isolation and cynicism. The period of ‘college/
academy training’ (January 2005 – June 2006) did not significantly counteract these
tendencies, neither the subsequent ‘field training’ (July 2005 – December 2005).
Nine years on, and these attitudes intensified to an overall average of 69.85%. The
study further found that for the duration of the project (10 years), female trainees,
and their ensuing conversion to fully-fledged police officials, had mostly stronger
values exhibiting police culture solidarity, police culture isolation and police culture
cynicism, compared to their male counterparts. These findings provide some
credence for a ‘nurtured nature’ understanding to the acquirement, preservation and firming of police culture themes of solidarity, isolation and cynicism postures
of police officials. The study furthermore, contradicts contemporary ethnographers
(Cockcroft 2013; O’Neill, Marks & Singh 2007; Sklansky 2005) who fashionably
argue that conventional characterisations of police culture are antiquated, illogical
and useless due to new developments in policing.
