‘ARE THEY TRULY OUR FRIENDS?’ A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ CONFIDENCE IN THE POLICE

Citizens’ confidence in the police is a fundamental requirement for effective policing in modern societies. While this argument holds true for most legal and criminological perceptions in South Africa, research studies have hardly considered how specific segments of the population, particularly university students, view the police. This study was therefore aimed at determining the extent to which university students’ perception of the police shaped their confidence in the South African Police Service (SAPS) as an institution. A quantitative approach was adopted for the study. Data were obtained from participants through a convenience sampling technique. A sample of 682 participants was drawn from one of the largest universities in South Africa for a cross-sectional survey. The data were used to assess whether students’ personal encounters with or vicarious knowledge of the police influenced their confidence in the procedural fairness, effectiveness and trustworthiness of the members of this institution. It was found, amongst others, that the students did not have a favourable disposition towards the police and that this negative attitude reduced their confidence in the police. Students’ negative perceptions were shaped by their personal experiences of police corruption and brutality and this diminished their trust in the police. Increased levels of fear due to escalating crime also had a negative impact on their confidence in the SAPS. The implications of these findings for policing in contemporary South Africa are disconcerting, and the study thus confirms that the police-student relationship in South Africa needs to improve. For example, the police should adopt more proactive methods and a conciliatory approach when engaging with students while carrying out their constitutional responsibilities, whereas students, without breaking the law, should adopt a more permissive approach when making their voice heard.