The South African Police Service (SAPS) launched the Front-Line Service Delivery (FSD) Project at the Wolmaransstad Police Station in the North West.
The Wolmaransstad Police Station is one of the nine police stations identified all over the country for the pilot implementation of the FSD project, a dedicated programme aimed at improving the experience of all the communities in the country when they need services provided by the SAPS.
This programme includes addressing the professional conduct of police officers, how they treat the public, ensuring that police stations are accessible to the public and that the first point of interaction between the police and the public is a positive one. As the SAPS, we strongly believe that these interventions will go a long way in improving the brand and corporate identity of the SAPS in the eyes of the public.
The establishment of a customer-care approach at all front-line service points, will include the development of a customer-care policy and procedure, the development and implementation of learning programmes for customer-care officials, the development and implementation of customer- care monitoring and evaluation mechanisms and indicators. The following training interventions will be presented at the identified police stations and will be our focus with the establishment of these police stations:
- The fitness of all operational members will be assessed
- The training of skills development facilitators
- Making the training committee operational
- Customer Service
- Station Leadership
- Relief Commanders
- Training on domestic violence
- Training on the Child Justice Act
- Change management programmes (Human Rights and Policing, Victim Empowerment)
- Station Management Learning Programme
- Practical Project Management
- Executive Development Learning Programme
- Resolving of Crime Learning Programme
- Detective Commander’s Learning Programme
- Middle Management Learning Programme
- Junior Management Learning Programme.
Police stations are critical units in the police administration system. For many citizens, their first encounter with a police official is at a police station, where they report a crime or seek assistance. The public’s expectations of the police can only be met if they are satisfied with the professionalism and promptness of the services rendered by the men and women in blue at police stations.
It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that we enable our personnel to render services of a high standard, with efficiency, professionalism, integrity and empathy. The term “enable” does not only refer to the provision of equipment, which is important, but also to the provision of skills and training, which are equally important to ensure that we put people first.
The Front-Line Service Delivery Project is a dedicated programme, designed to improve the individual’s experience when visiting a police station. This includes the accessibility of police stations, the professional and respectful conduct of the police employees based at those stations and the overall degree of excellence of the services rendered.
We have increased the number of victim-friendly rooms so that complainants, especially the victims of crimes, such as rape and domestic violence, can discuss their cases in private and with properly-skilled and professional officers.
Our Front-Line Service Delivery Programme seeks to establish an effective and efficient complaints and enquiry management service, provided by informed police officials at police stations or other service points. This will include compliance with the relevant governance, referrals to relevant stakeholders and prompt feedback to complainants and interested persons. Not only does this programme focus on access to police stations and the professional conduct of police officers, it is also aimed at standardising the corporate brand of the SAPS.
Once the entire programme has been implemented, the SAPS’s Community Service Centres will have standardised, corporate branding whiles the professional conduct and ethics at all the SAPS’s “touch points” will have improved considerably. The following police stations have been identified for the pilot launch:
|
Stations |
Province |
| Rondebosch | Western Cape |
| Wolmaransstand | North West |
| Thabazimbi | Limpopo |
| Hartswater | Northern Cape |
| Kopanong | Free State |
| Alexandra | Gauteng |
| Amangwe | Kwazulu-Natal |
| Kabokweni | Mpumalanga |
| Butterworth | Eastern Cape |