Background: As result of the restructuring of the South African Police Services during 1994 as well as other factors, Police Social Work Services decided to shift the focus from reactive services to more proactive, personnel capacity building programmes. At the end of 1999 , 15 of these programmes were already developed. Although basic evaluation instruments were included in some of the programme packages, the need arose to determine either the effect of the programmes on the participants or the cost-efficiency of the interventions scientifically. This led to the launch of the PCBP project and the Evaluation of the Substance Dependency study in November 2001. This form part of the evaluation of the comprehensive personnel capacity building research project. Objectives: The primary aim of the study was to determine the effect of the Substance Dependency Programme on SAPS personnel's knowledge, attitude and behaviour. Method: In the research, the comparison group pre-test and post-test design and triangulation were used. Six measurement scales and a presenter's evaluation questionnaire were developed and completed by 217 experimental group respondents, 47 comparison group respondents and 10 presenters. Results: Through the triangulation of measurement it was determined that the Substance Dependence Programme had a practical significant effect on the respondent's knowledge, attitude and behaviour. It is thus an effective tool in the hand of Police Social Work Services, that empower police members and lead to productivity and enhanced their personal well-being. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Since 1991. South Africa has a new democratic dispensation. This new- Democracy in South Africa has the aim to change the lives of ever)- citizen in South Africa. A new Constitution and the Bill of Rights have been adopted to ensure that discrimination policies of the past are to be addressed. The Government of South Africa committed itself to gender equality and this commitment has to transpire to all public institutions. It is therefore. important that public institutions should engage in a process of ongoing change and investigate their own controlled styles in support of gender justice. In the South African Police. before 1994. women were not considered as an essential part of the workforce and they were not employed in senior management positions. The new South African Police Service adopted community policing as a new style of policing and embarked on a strong sense of service delivery to the community. South Africa has a diverse community and to enable the SAPS to deliver a proper service to the community they serve, the human-resource component should reflect this: incorporating men and women as equal partners. The managers of the SAPS have therefore to change accordingly and with that the whole organisation and its members. When times change. it requires a change in attitudes and perceptions. The aim of this study was to engender a new consciousness in the SAPS and the society about the role of policewomen as competent managers in a male-dominated profession and not for superiority of any of the genders. In any society women play a critical role: therefore the respect for the rights of women in society brings capability and builds capacity. Semi-structured interview schedules were used to conduct interviews with female police station managers as well as their subordinates at different stations to obtain the necessary information. A literature re vie^ was done to obtain information and views from other authors on the topic of policewomen. Limited research has been done on policewomen or on women in management positions in SAPS. Chapter one provides an orientation to the study. Legislation by Government as well as policies and directives from the SAPS were discussed in Chapter 2 to set the scene for the study. The question is asked whether these legislation. policies and directives are effectively being implemented to enhance the development of women in the organisation and to give them a fair chance to show their skills and competencies in managerial positions. The study further materialises in a discussion on the role and performance of women in the policing environment and a historical background of women in policing in South .Africa. The remainder of the study focuses on the research methodology. the empirical findings: a summary: recommendations and a conclusion. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

The two most significant domains in the lives of employed individuals are work and home, which can influence each other in both a negative and a positive way. However, there has been a lack of empirical research investigating the positive interaction between the work and home domains, as well as the possible antecedents and outcomes associated with it, including job resources and work engagement. The objectives of this study were to test a structural model that includes job resources, positive work-home interaction (WHI) and work engagement, and to determine the mediating role of positive WHI in the relationship between job resources and work engagement for police officers in the North West Province. A cross-sectional survey design was used. Random samples (n = 468) were taken of employees in the South African Police Service in the North West Province. The Job Demands-Resources Scale, the positive WHI scale of the Survey Work-Home Interaction - Nijmegen (SWING) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) were administered. Structural equation modelling showed that people who receive sufficient job resources (including organisational support, possibilities for advancement, growth opportunities and contact with colleagues) experience positive WHI that leads to work engagement. In addition, job resources help to enhance work engagement. These results provided evidence for the partial mediating role of positive work-home interaction in the relationship between job resources and work engagement. Recommendations were made for the organisation and for future research. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Background: As a result of the restructuring of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in 1996 and various other factors, Police Social Work Services decided to broaden the scope of its services by developing and introducing proactive, personnel capacity building programmes. By 1999, 15 such programmes were developed. The need subsequently arose for a comprehensive impact assessment of these programmes and the Evaluation of Personnel Capacity Building Programmes (EPCBP) study was launched in 2001. The evaluation of the HIV and AIDS Awareness programme formed part of this research. Objectives: The primary aim of the study was to determine the effect of the HIV and AIDS Awareness Programme on SAPS personnel's knowledge, attitude and behaviour. Procedure: In the research, the comparison group pre-test and post- test design and triangulation were used. Six measurement scales and a presenter's evaluation questionnaire were developed and completed by 261 experimental group respondents, 51 comparison group members and 24 presenters. Results: Through the triangulation of measurements it was determined that the HIV and AIDS Awareness programme had a practical significant effect on the respondents knowledge, attitude and behaviour. It was thus an effective tool in the hands of Police Social Work Service that not only empowered SAPS personnel to lead more healthy professional lives, but one that also enhanced their personal well-being. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (Master).

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

Thesis (MEdPsych)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

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