Exploring the Impact of the SAPS Basic Training Institutes in Changing the Deviant Police Culture Attitudes of New Recruits

• NCJ Number: 221542
• Journal: Acta Criminologica Volume: 20 Issue: 1 Dated: 2007 Pages: 1-34
• Author(s): J. Steyn; I. de Vries
• Date Published: 2007
• Length: 34 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: South Africa
• Note: Downloaded February 13, 2008; To access the full text PDF: 1) select the provided link; 2) from the Acta Criminologica Web site, select "Table of Contents"; 3) select the corresponding Volume and Issue (see the NCJRS abstract record for the exact Volume and Issue); 4) scroll the Table of Contents to the exact article; and 5) click on the "full text" icon

Annotation

This study examined the impact of the South African Police Service's (SAP's) basic training institutes in changing the attitudes of new police recruits that reflect the deviant police culture of the apartheid era.

Abstract

Generally, the study findings show that, with the exception of the Bisho SAPS Basic Training Institute, the training experience of new recruits had the effect of either maintaining or strengthening the recruits' attitudes in support of police solidarity against the community, isolation from the community, and cynicism. This occurred despite the SAPS leadership's commitment to community policing as a new corporate strategy, as an instrument of change, and as a method of proactive policing. This study adds to the body of police research regarding the impact of police cultural values in the socialization of new SAPS police recruits. No other studies report on such a large sample of police recruits regarding similarities and differences in police cultural values and attitudes. Out of an initial sample of 1,485 recruits who entered training institutes in January 2005, 1,168 recruits participated in the pretest and posttest. The questionnaire measured respondents' attitudes toward the deviant features of police culture that included solidarity against citizen complaints and expectations for the police, isolation from the community, and cynicism. Analysis of pretest and posttest scores determined whether any change in attitudes had occurred as a result of training at a SAPS institute. 11 tables, appended questionnaire, and 66 references