Members of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police have again expressed their concern about the working conditions of South African Police Service (SAPS) members.
Members of Parliament say an unfavourable working environment has an impact on the psyche and moral of SAPS members.
And this in turn has a negative impact on how police officers are able to deliver services to the country.
Police unions agree, saying the horrific conditions to which the men and women in blue are exposed to, create an unhealthy situation.
According to a SAPS Organisational Climate Survey conducted in 2021, more support is needed for the employee health and wellness program.
SA Police Services I Unions call for President Ramaphosa to intervene in the state of policing in SA:
Currently, the Employee Health and Wellness Programme has services offered by psychologists, social workers, occupational health practitioners and chaplains.
Just over 600 personnel are employed in this capacity, to serve the entire SAPS population.
One union presenting to the committee expressed concern, that chaplains, are being used to perform critical functions relating to mental health.
Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) is concerned about accessibility to these services.
Meanwhile, South African Policing Union (SAPU) is also concerned about the low morale of members.
SAPU’s Tumi Mogodiseng says: “The correct cause of action would be to address the root causes thereof. In our discussion SAPU has tried to accentuate the issues that we believe are key drivers of the low morale in SAPS.”
If these matters are addressed in a joint problem solving mode by all the relevant role players, the current state of affairs can be arrested and turned around.”
