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Downloads/Morninginamericavo L3i4.Pdf [24 March 2013] AN ANALYSIS OF COMMUNITY-POLICE PARTNERSHIPS: A CASE STUDY OF THE THORNHILL POLICING AREA By DEON ELS Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in Conflict and Transformation Management at the School of Governmental and Social Sciences in the Faculty of Arts of the NELSON MANDELA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY Supervisor: Dr. G.J. Bradshaw 2015 DECLARATION FULL NAME: Deon André Els STUDENT NUMBER: 212442473 QUALIFICATION: Master of Arts TITLE OF PROJECT: An Analysis of Community-Police Partnerships: A Case Study of the Thornhill Policing Area DECLARATION: In accordance with Rule G4.6.3, I hereby declare that the above-mentioned dissertation is my own work, and that it has not previously been submitted for assessment to another university, or for another qualification. SIGNATURE: DATE: 18 November 2014 i DEDICATION I dedicate this research effort to all those heart-sore families I officially engaged with as a young SAPS officer while investigating their beloved ones’ suicides. To this day, I recall the smell of death and the absolute silence while guarding their bodies until first light. I recall the incident of the attractive young girl dressed in brown corduroy pants and the horrific task of climbing over the balcony to enter through an open window while the man’s body blocked the entrance, with the song Hotel California blaring over his radio. The memory of these and other countless suicides, although nearly 30 years ago, remain as crisp in my memory as if it was yesterday. I further dedicate this effort to those people I was fortunate to assist and convince not to commit suicide. The text message of appreciation I received on Christmas Day 2011 is a sweet reminder that suicide is not the end of the road, but a preventable phenomenon. I ultimately dedicate this study to Anna Sophia nee Rautenbach and Bill Els for teaching us to always be sensitive to other’s needs. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Michael and Jason, without Office 4u, and your involvement, this study would have been so much poorer. Professor Ben Lindeque, your calmness and academic guidance was a continuous inspiration that became vital life lessons. Professor Peter Cunningham, thank you for a sheer moment of brilliance on guiding me towards a topic. To all the research participants, Thornhill resembles an acute example of a “pocket of excellence” which deserves the highest accolades for not only preventing suicides but also for providing vital lessons to a true democratic South Africa. Thank you for sharing and allowing me in your life-world. Sandra my beloved sister, winning the World Wave-ski Championships twice in one life time, silently encouraged me to never stop learning. Deon, Liesel and Ryno, res ipsa loqiticar, for continuous support and for both achieving your master’s degrees simultaneously with my study. Marina, no-one would ever know how much support and love you gave, countless hours prowling shopping malls and attending concerts alone, never complaining, just amplifies what is called pure love. Dr Gavin and Nadia Bradshaw, it is beyond human thought how you never showed impatience, always guiding and mentoring your wealth of academic reasoning on the topic of conflict management. The fact that your dining room table became my personal lecture room just proves your astounding commitment towards empowering capacity, amidst a tidal wave of post-graduate students, thank you. To Father God, who nourished me throughout and performed miracles when needed most, all the glory. iii ABSTRACT In this case study, an effective community-police partnership in the Thornhill area is described and explored as a function of the successful application of conflict management approaches. The partnership was implemented in a quest to solve the problem of increasing suicides at the Van Stadens Bridge. Indications are that partnership between government agencies and the community have generally failed in democratic South Africa with respect to the education, health and policing sectors. Partnerships between the community and policing system are challenging because the South African Police Service (SAPS) is continuously plagued by incidents of police brutality, police killings and leadership crises. In order to understand the context of the Thornhill community-police partnership and establish if the operation of the partnership is successful, a wide-ranging conflict management approach is taken to evaluate the partnership. The literature review includes the history of conflict in SA, SAPS and Community Policing, leadership in conflict management, theories of social conflict, and suicidology1. A qualitative approach and method included 31 semi-structured interviews and focus-group observations. Grounded theory, including aspects of framework analysis, was used to explicate and interpret data within a phenomenological paradigm. The following main themes emerged after the qualitative data analysis: Theme 1: Conflict serves a positive function in creating a partnership between SAPS and the community Theme 2: Indications of conflict that negatively impact on the partnership SAPS and the community Theme 3: Role of SAPS in creating a valued relationship with the Thornhill community 1 The term “suicidology” is cited in James and Gilliland (2005:145) and Edwin Shneidman (1969:146). Shneidman (1999:155, in James and Gilliland 2005:155) defines suicide as follows: “Currently in the Western world, suicide is a conscious act of self-induced annihilation, best understood as a multi-dimensional malaise in a needful individual who defines an issue for which the suicide is perceived as the best solution”. iv Theme 4: Role of Thornhill community in strengthening the efficacy of SAPS Theme 5: Role of Conflict Management Systems employed role-players in the partnership Theme 6: Role of leadership in establishing a valued relationship between SAPS and community including the leadership qualities that contributed to establishing valued relationships Theme 7: Suggestions to improve management of Suicide “conflict” Explication revealed that suicide incidents place a high demand on mostly understaffed and under-resourced Thornhill SAPS. The SAPS members in Thornhill portray a unique police culture based on pride and ownership towards “their community” and willingness to deliver extraordinary service. Various indicators suggest a unique relationship based on inter-racial collaboration and trust that accommodates and involves different layers of society, including the active participation of the elderly and youth structures. The progress and solutions offered by the successful case of a community-police partnership in Thornhill provides valuable insight into leadership, commitment and the collaborative will to manage conflict and prevent suicides. The case study also sheds light on how serious crimes, such as farm attacks, can be dealt with decisively based on professional and well-coordinated investigation methods with technology. The conclusion reached is that a successful community-police partnership is the product of implementing effective conflict management approaches. Keywords: community policing, conflict management, conflict management systems, partnership, relationships, trust, leadership, communication, suicidology. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .................................................................................................... i DEDICATION ....................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................. xv LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................. xvi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................ xviii CHAPTER 1 THE THORNHILL CASE STUDY AND APPROACH 1.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY .............................................................. 2 1.2.1 Suicide at Van Stadens Bridge ....................................................... 2 1.2.2 The Thornhill Partnership ................................................................ 4 1.2.3 The Positive Consequences of Conflict in Society .......................... 6 1.3 RATIONALE FOR STUDY ......................................................................... 8 1.4 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH ..................................... 10 1.4.1 Aim ................................................................................................ 11 1.4.2 Objectives ..................................................................................... 11 1.5 OVERVIEW OF METHODOLOGY EMPLOYED ...................................... 11 1.5.1 Case Study ................................................................................... 14 1.6 SUMMARY ............................................................................................... 14 vi CHAPTER 2 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT PROCESSES IN SOUTH AFRICA 2.1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 16 2.2 THE SOCIAL-HISTORICAL CONTEXT ................................................... 18
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