The Human Sciences Research Council’s (HSRC’s) round 21 of the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) revealed that trust in the South African Police Service (Saps) has declined significantly over the past two decades, with the council urgently calling on the police to prioritise building public trust and confidence.

The study showed that only 22% of citizens expressed trust in the Saps in 2022, with the 2023 and 2024/25 confidence levels almost unchanged.

Principal investigator of the study Dr Benjamin Roberts explained that the research team analysed representative survey data on police confidence trends from social surveys conducted by the HSRC since the late 1990s.

He noted that this analysis provided context on the extent and nature of the challenge, highlighting variations and drivers of public perceptions on policing.

“The findings are expected to inform interventions aimed at restoring public faith in the police. By adopting a more community-focused and accountable approach to policing, we can work towards creating safer and more secure communities for all South Africans,” he said.

The survey found that trust levels in the police have remained relatively low over the 1998 to 2024/25 period.

“…notably, during this 27-year interval, a majority of the adult public never expressed trust in the police, suggesting that police legitimacy has been a longstanding issue. Over the 1998 to 2010 period, the average level of trust in the police was relatively static. It ranged between 39% and 42% in all but a few years,” it highlighted.

Roberts pointed out that this was followed by a sharp decline between 2011 and 2013, following the Marikana massacre of August 2012.

However, he noted that confidence had almost returned to the 2011 level by the time of the 2015 survey.

He highlighted that the 2016 to 2020 period was characterised by modest fluctuation between 31% and 35%.

“The hard Covid-19 lockdown experience, which included instances of police brutality in enforcing lockdown regulations, did not appear to have had an aggregate effect on confidence levels based on the 2020 survey results,” he said.

He noted the 2021 period, in which he said public trust in the police dipped to a low of 27%.

“…this appears to be linked to the July 2021 social unrest. Many criticised the poor performance of the police during the unrest. This was followed by a further 5 percentage point decline to 22% in 2022, with the 2023 and 2024/25 confidence levels almost unchanged, which may reflect increasing rates for certain crimes,” he said.

The 2022, 2023 and 2024/25 figures are the lowest recorded in 27 years.

See report: https://www.polity.org.za/article/south-african-social-attitudes-survey-national-and-provincial-trends-trust-in-the-police-1998-2025-2025-07-14