Thesis (Master). / Title from PDF title screen (viewed July 28, 2009).

Thesis (Master).

Thesis (MSoc.Sci (Employee Assistance Programme)) -- University of Pretoria, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

M.A. / The South African Police Service (SAPS) has an immense responsibility in terms of providing a safe and secure environment for every individual residing in South Africa. Members of this organisation conduct their duties under difficult and often dangerous conditions. These taxing working conditions add tremendous stress to the lives of police officials (Violanti, 1997). The stressors faced by police officials may vary with regard to frequency and intensity. Stressors associated with the working environment may spill over into their personal lives and may also lead to negativity at work which can also affect the quality of service that should be provided by police officials in South Africa. Various factors can be implicated in the stress process (Sulsky & Smith, 2005). Specific ways of coping have been identified in previous and current literature (Suls & Fletcher, 1985; Swanepoel & Pienaar, 2004). The present study focused on identifying a relationship between personality and coping. The coping styles that South African police officials employ also received some attention. Personality was defined as characteristics of the person that account for consistent patterns of feelings, thinking and behaviour. This study focused on the Five Factor Model in the conceptualisation and understanding of personality. The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between personality and coping amongst members of the SAPS. Each participant (N = 125) completed a consent form, a biographical questionnaire, the Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced questionnaire (COPE; Carver et al., 1989) and the Basic Traits Inventory (Taylor & De Bruin, 2006). The first research question related to coping strategies South African police officials employ. The second research question focused on what the relationship between the individual Big Five personality traits (Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism) and the coping styles (Problem-focused Coping, Emotion-focused Coping and Dysfunctional Coping) of police officials in South Africa.A non-experimental survey design was implemented in this study. Differential and inferential statistics were used to identify the most commonly used coping strategies and the relationship that exists between coping and personality. Examination of the individual personality traits in relation to coping was done through the use of Pearson’s product-moment correlations. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, version 15). The results indicated that Extroversion (r = 0.27; p < 0.01), Conscientiousness (r = 0.31; p < 0.01), Agreeableness (r = 0.40; p < 0.01) and Openness to Experience (r = 0.45; p < 0.01) had statistically significant positive relationships with Problem-focused Coping. Neuroticism (r = 0.39; p < 0.01) showed a statistically significant positive correlation with Dysfunctional Coping. Openness to Experience (r = 0.23; p < 0.05) and Agreeableness (r = 0.35; p < 0.01) displayed a statistically significant positive correlation with Emotion-focused Coping. Results in this study indicate that members of the SAPS lean towards using Problemfocused and Emotion-focused strategies rather than Dysfunctional Coping strategies. This study has implications for organisations such as the SAPS as it shed light on the different ways in which individuals are predisposed to cope with stress. It also highlights the influence of personality in the stress process and offers insight into possible ways in which individuals generally cope with stress.

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / Research evidence suggests that strengthening the cultural roots of an organisation (Organisational Culture) can lead to the observance of increased behaviours that goes beyond the call of duty (Organisational Citizenship Behaviour) across all sectors within a given organisation. Organisational cultures that encourage innovation, sense of togetherness and positive competition, are ideal in encouraging employees to perform beyond normal expectations in organisations. Organisational culture is therefore a critical element that contributes to organisational success and effectiveness. The focus of this study is to determine the impact that the organisational culture of the South African Police Service, as an organisation, has on the Organisational Citizenship Behaviour of its members in the Western Cape. The empirical study involved the participation of 127 respondents from three of the largest police stations in the Western Cape. A survey was conducted using the Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) and the Organisational Citizenship Behaviour Scale (OCBS) to assess the hypothesised relationship between the variables. An analysis of the results suggests that all of the dimensions of Organisational Culture (Clan, Adhocracy, Hierarchy and Market) are positively related to all of the dimensions of Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (Altruism, Sportsmanship, Civic Virtue, Conscientiousness and courtesy).

AFRIKAANS: Sedert die eerste demokratiese verkiesing in Suid-Afrika in 1994 het die Suid¬Afrikaanse Polisiediens voortdurende transformasie ondergaan. Misdaad, traumatisering en selfmoord van polisiebeamptes het toegeneem. Die werkslading en eise aan die professionele hulpdienste (sielkundiges, maatskaplike werkers, kapelane) in die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisiediens het dienooreenkomstig verhoog. Hierdie studie is ‘n eksploratiewe ondersoek by 'n aantal sielkundiges in die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisiediens oor die verskynsel van psigiese uitbranding. Hierdie is die eerste studie oor psigiese uitbranding by sielkundiges in die organisasie. Die meeste outeurs beskou psigiese uitbranding as 'n verskynsel wat met die werksomgewing geassosieer word en spesifiek met die professionele rol van hulpverlening. Die Iiteratuurstudie oor psigiese uitbranding toon egter dat die term vir 'n groot verskeidenheid prosesse, simptome, definisies, oorsake, fases en gevolge gebruik word. Verskeie outeurs wys op die alomvattende en nie-kritiese gebruik van die term, asook die gebrekkige geïntegreerde teoretiese fundering in die veld. Groepanalise dien as 'n integrerende teoretiese raamwerk en die data is verkry deur die k1eingroep as basis vir 'n tweedaagse groepanalitiese werkwinkel te gebruik. Sielkundiges van verskeie geografiese streke in Suid¬Afrika het die werkwinkel vrywillig bygewoon. 'n Ondersoeksituasie is aan die einde van die werkwinkel geskep waar ongestruktureerde vrae gebruik is. 'n Fenomenologiese benadering tot die ondersoeksituasie en data-analise is gebruik. Die navorsingsresultate is beskrywend en toon dat psigiese uitbranding 'n ervaringsrealiteit by sielkundiges in die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisiediens is. Die kleingroep as data-genererende konteks, die navorsingsvrae en die vrye gespreksformaat het tot refleksie oor individuele ervarings, kleingroepervarings, asook grootgroep- en sosiale realiteite gelei. Die wederkerigheid tussen die genoemde ervarings en die self in verhouding tot verskeie aspekte dien as 'n beskrywende raamwerk vir die resultate. Die analisering oor die refleksie van die sosiale realiteit in die navorsing toon dat sielkundiges die organisasie en die sosiale konteks as traumaties ervaar en sekondêr getraumatiseer word deur met polisielede te werk. Die organisasiesisteem en die organisasie-as-geheel dra by tot ervarings van traumatisering. Dit maak die fondasie matriks uit waar getraumatiseerde individuele en groepsprosesse manifesteer en geregresseerde en primitiewe funksioneringseienskappe, ongeïntegreerdheid en angs openbaar word. Die studie toon dat die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisiediens as transisionele en getraumatiseerde konteks tot 'n toestand van sosiale immobilisasie en paralise lei wat sosiale ontwikkeling, dialoog en kommunikasie beperk. Die potensiaal van die organisasie as grootgroep om tot integrasie by te dra, word deur hierdie prosesse ingeperk en inhibeer groei en transformasie. ENGLISH: Since the first democratic general election in South Africa in 1994, the South African Police Service, as an organisation, has undergone continual transformation. The level of crime, traumatisation and suicide of police officials have increased since then. The workload and demands on the helping professions (psychologists, social workers and chaplains) have increased accordingly. This study is an explorative investigation into the phenomenon of psychological burnout and the manifestation of this burnout among a number of psychologists employed by the South African Police Service. This is the first study involving psychological burnout that has been undertaken among psychologists in this organisation. Most authors view psychological burnout as a phenomenon that is associated with the work environment and specifically with the professional role of those rendering assistance. The literature dealing with psychological burnout, however, reveals that the term is used for a variety of processes, symptoms, definitions, causes, phases and consequences. Various authors have pointed out both the all-inclusive and non-critical use of the term as well as the lack of an integrated theoretical grounding in the specific field. Group analysis served as an integrating theoretical framework and the data was obtained by using the small group as a basis for a two-day group analytical workshop. Psychologists attended the workshop on a voluntary basis from various geographical regions in South Africa. An investigative situation, using unstructured questions, was created at the conclusion of the workshop. A phenomenological approach to the investigative situation and data-analysis were utilised in the research. The research results are descriptive and reveal that psychological burnout occurs among the psychologists. The small group (as a• data-generating context), the research questions and the format of exploration led to reflection on individual experiences, small and large group experiences as well as social realities. The mutuality between the aforementioned experiences as well as the self in various relations serves as a descriptive framework for results. An analysis of the reflection on social reality in the research firstly reveals that the psychologists experience the organisation and the social context as traumatic and secondly that the psychologists are traumatised by working with police officials. The organisation system and the organisation-as-a-whole, contribute to traumatic experiences. This comprises the foundation matrix in which traumatised individual and group related processes manifest, and primitive and regressed qualities, lack of integration and anxiety are revealed. The study reveals that the transition and traumatising context in the South African Police Service lead to a condition of social immobilisation and paralysis, which limits social development, dialogue and communication. These processes restrict the potential of the organisation as large group to assist in integration and this in turn inhibits growth and transformation. / Thesis (PhD (Psychotherapy))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Psychology / unrestricted

No abstract available / Dissertation (MSocSci)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

Discourses on trauma in the South African Police Service (SAPS) focus primarily on the experience of traumatic events as the primary reason for the emotional difficulties that members experience. This study questions this dominant discourse and examines additional discourses that may contribute to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of trauma in the SAPS. The research entailed a qualitative analysis of 15 essays written by members of the SAPS, with the aim of exploring alternative discourses on the experience of trauma by police officers. The participants included fifteen male, officers from three units in the Gauteng region. The data were analysed within a psychodynamic frame, and findings suggest that police officers’ reactions to trauma are significantly influenced by factors other than mere exposure to traumatic events. The history of psychological trauma indicates that constructions of traumatic stress are strongly connected with cultural, social and political circumstances. Current psychodynamic thinking emphasises the meaning of the real traumatic occurrence, which causes trauma by changing a person’s experience of the self in relation to selfobjects. The research results suggest that the sociohistorical circumstances in South Africa, the transformation effected in the police service, and political and structural uncertainty play an important role in contributing to an overwhelming sense of loss and uncertainty. Perceived losses include the loss of the supportive police subculture, loss of meaning in their work, loss of a sense of masculinity as well as loss of a sense of competence and agency. Findings further reveal that officers’ experience a sense of being overwhelmed, powerless and helpless in the face of these historical and organisational changes. These feelings generate significant anxiety and impact negatively on officers’ self-esteem. Feelings of omnipotence and invulnerability, which are necessary for effective coping in the policing environment, are negatively affected. Furthermore, without the existence of a supportive social group, this anxiety becomes uncontained and unmanageable. / Thesis (PhD (Psychotherapy))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Psychology / PhD / unrestricted

The aim of this study was to established whether police officials in Area Soweto understand the affirmative action that is taking place within the SAPS. A literature study on affirmative action was done and a questionnare generated. An imperical study was done by questionnaire on the trans formation that has taken place within the SAPS from 1994 to 2000. The sample of 300 members was taken out of the eight identified police stations in Soweto. It was established that police officials in soweto do no understand affirmative action and its implementation within the SAPS in Soweto. Most of them were uncertain in ther reponse to the questions asked. Recommendations are made for the SAPS to teach members about affirmative action and its consequences within this organisation for affirmative action to succeed. / Penology / M.A. (Police Science)

Dissertation submitted in compliance with the requirements for Master's Degree of Technology: Marketing, Retail and Public Relations, Durban University of Technology, 2011. / The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of members of the public towards South African Police Service (SAPS), service delivery in the Community Service Centre (CSC) in the greater Durban area. The focus of the study was based on measurement of service quality dimension and service delivery in order to generate quality models for SAPS CSC. This study focuses on the determination of client perception of quality at the SAPS CSC. The main objective was to develop an understanding of the clients‟ perception of the service delivery by the SAPS CSC. The Servqual Model was used to establish the client‟s perceptions against their expectations of service quality at the SAPS CSC. The person-administered survey was used as the most appropriate technique. Four hundred respondents were surveyed. The data was analysed using Descriptive and Inferential statistics. The five service quality dimensions of the Servqual Model were used to measure client‟s expectations and perceptions. The results indicated that in all five service quality dimensions; (tangible, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy) there was a negative quality gap. The significant differences between perception and expectation of clients in all five service quality dimensions were noted. Improvement is needed across all five service quality dimensions to improve service delivery. Furthermore, the result has revealed that client‟s perception of service quality at the SAPS CSC falls below their expectations, presenting a great challenge to the organisation. In order to improve service quality, it is recommended that SAPS need to regularly assess and monitor employees, as well as clients experiences and provide feedback.