Kerala   

Making policing people-friendly

Ntombizakhe Mcaba

Her cheerfulness is infectious and the clarity of her thoughts forceful as she explains the way a police trade union works in the difficult terrains of South Africa.

On the sidelines of the ongoing 8th Congress of Southern Initiative Against Globalisation and For Trade Union Rights (Sigtur), Ntombizakhe Mcaba put in plain words the concept of community policing and the core issue of transformation of the police an d the community.

Her experiences as a Captain of the Police in Johannesburg and, for nine years, an office-bearer of Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru), makes her account even more powerful.

The basic issue is transformation — of the police and the community.

There is no meaning in the law and order exercise unless there is transformation of the mind, said Ms. Mcaba who is now First Vice-President of Popcru in an informal chat with The Hindu. She said that the idea of Community Policing originated in post-Apartheid South Africa. Involving people’s representatives to decide what kind of a policing is needed for a community is a basic tenet.

Under the Apartheid regime people looked at the police as an enemy. The perception must change in the post-Apartheid era. Leaders of the community and police representatives discussing issues involved in policing a particular community goes a long way in changing images. Ms. Macaba said that as a trade union, Popcru looks after the rights of the police personnel — there are about 1,20,000 of them in her union.

Wages, safety issues, training, equipment and vehicles are issues that are taken up and discussed.

The police, however, do not strike work and rely on negotiations to settle issues that arise from time to time, said Ms. Mcaba.

The Union is also a civil rights union that discusses and sets benchmark for the services being offered by the police, she said.

Popcru is nearly 20 years old and has been successful in raising the issues that are basic to making policing more meaningful and effective, she added.

K. A. Martin

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