Mofokeng Acta Criminologica: Southern African Journal of Criminology

Special Edition No 5/2015: Criminology in democratic South Africa: Coming of age

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AN EXAMINATION OF FACTORS INFLUENCING INVESTIGATING

OFFICERS’ RETENTION IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE
Jacob Mofokeng1
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ABSTRACT
In recent years, the South African Police Service (SAPS) has experienced increasing levels of
staff turnover, especially within the Detective Service environment. The problem is
compounded by experienced detectives, who have been the core of the Detective Service’s
operations for years, and who retired, as well as those who have been recruited by the
private sector. Before the Detective Service can determine which retention strategies to be
initiated, it is critical to know the specific reasons why detectives are leaving the SAPS. As
the SAPS seeks to find the causes for attrition, officials must have an integral role in the
process. One of the most important areas to clarify in this phase is to ask detectives what is
important to them and their opinion of why employees are leaving. Thus, the purpose of this
article is the examination of factors influencing Investigating Officers’ (IOs) retention in the
South African Police Service.
Keywords: Investigation, retention, turnover, withdrawal, workload, South African police
officers, detectives
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INTRODUCTION
While personnel planning has always been an essential part of police management, the
dynamic nature of the contemporary work force environment suggests greater attention is
required to ensure it is evidence-based and best meets the needs of individual departments
within the law enforcement agencies (Wilson, 2014: 78). Despite the volatility of the
environment, such as budgetary constraints affecting personnel planning, some concerns
remain consistent or at least recurring. One such concern is retention of skilled investigating
officers (IOs) within the South African Police Service (SAPS). The economic downturn in
South Africa and elsewhere in 2008 mitigated this problem for many, since resources shrunk
and retention strategies became out of reach. Therefore, strategies for retention must be an
integral part of a police organisation’s workforce management approach. Understanding the
forces that cause attrition can assist police managers in envisioning longitudinal goals for an
organisation (Brunetto, Teo, Shacklock & Farr-Wharton, 2012: 428-441).
Challenges confronting the retention of IOs therefore, call for an evidence-based and
methodical approach to personnel management that involves assessments of staffing need,
allocation of staffing resources, distribution of staff attributes and qualities, recruitment,
retention, and opportunity costs and implications of implementing personnel management
strategies for the Detective Service. The focus of the present article is on one such concern,
retention of detectives in South Africa. It synthesises research about promising practices for
retention, focusing on empirical studies, to identify lessons on retaining police personnel. It
firstly explains what is known about various strategies, drawing on the policing literature by
highlighting the effectiveness of these strategies. Secondly, the findings, based on the views
of detectives, are provided on the factors that affect retention within the SAPS, followed by
recommendations based on the best practices learnt from the literature study. For simplicity,
the concept “investigating officer” or “detective” will be used interchangeably in this article.
This review can assist Human Resource Practitioners (HRP) and Detective Commanders
within the SAPS (hereafter referred to as police practitioners) to be more aware of such
________________________
1. Dr. Associate Professor. Department of Safety and Security Management, Faculty of Humanities, Tshwane
University of Technology. Email: mofokengjt@tut.ac.za

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factors that affect retention of experienced IOs in order to mitigate the challenges to an
acceptable level. While some gaps remain in the literature regarding the retention of the
SAPS officials especially the IOs, and much of the literature is based more on anecdote than
empirical research (thereby precluding meta-analyses and other formal assessments), the
current study can help police practitioners understand the views of the IOs regarding
retention practices within the Detective Service.

DEFINITION OF KEY CONCEPTS

Retention
Browell (2003:5), defines employee retention as “keeping those members of staff that one
wants to keep and not losing them from the organisation for whatever reason, especially to
the competitors”. Browell (2003) further explains that experienced employees are those who
hold positions that are critical for the success of the organisation, for example, in the case of
the law enforcement, case investigation positions.
Thus, according to the author, in order for an individual detective to fit this profile of
being an ‘experienced’ detective, the investigator must possess the following attributes to
enhance the detection of crime: an unusual capability for observation and recall; extensive
knowledge of the law, rules of evidence, scientific aids, and forensic science, as well as
related services; power of imagination; and a working knowledge of social psychology.
Experienced detectives should also appear to demonstrate empathy with the suspect; if a
detective can appear to understand why a criminal did what suspect did, a rapport is often
established that results in the suspect’s telling the officer the suspect life history, including
how and why the suspect committed the crime in question. Perhaps first and foremost,
however, an ‘experienced’ detective needs to display logical skills, the ability to exercise
deductive reasoning, to assist in their investigative work.
McKeown (2002) expands on Browell’s view about employee retention by
mentioning that retention should be aimed only at top performing employees, and not those
with a lower performance. McKeown defines a top performing employee as the type of staff
member who “adds value, contributes to the organisation overall and inspires others”
(McKeown, 2002: 8). McKeown’s view is that there is no precise definition of employee
retention because the manager’s perception of retention varies (McKeown, 2002: 8).
Turnover
Turnover is defined as the “individual movement across the membership boundary of an
organisation” (Price, 2001: 600). Chruden and Sherman (1972: 362), are of the same view as
Price that the concept refers to the amount of movement of employees in and out of an
organisation, normally present in terms of the turnover rate. Mobley (1982: 10) gives the
meaning of employee turnover as the “discontinuance of membership in an organisation by
the person who received monetary compensation from the organisation”. There are two
distinct types voluntary (quits) and involuntary (dismissals). (Hom & Griffeth, 1995; Mobley,
1982).
Individual
The concept ‘individual’ refers to the employees within an organisation and the notion of
movement can be interpreted as either an accession or a separation of the company (Perez,
2008: 11).

MOTIVATION AND RETENTION

Within the law enforcement environment, police practitioners believe that the key to
motivating officers is good pay and benefits. An officer’s job is seen in relatively
straightforward terms “if an officer follows the rules, does his job, and doesn’t create

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problems, he will be well paid for his time” (Fitch, 2014: 20). Fitch (2014: 20) believes that
the problem with this philosophy, however, is that officers are motivated by more than
money. Although pay and benefits are important, they aren’t among the factors that separate
productive, engaged officers from other, less committed employees.
Research also indicates that retention also changes with generational preferences.
Younger generations of workers might have less organisational commitment than older ones,
with many even changing careers (Wheeler, 2008; Twenge & Campbell, 2008). In a useful
metaphor, employee retention has been referred to as the ‘hole’ in the staffing ‘bucket’ by
which existing employees often escape (through voluntary turnover, or an employee’s
choosing to leave, or are released as in involuntary turnover or termination (Wilson, Dalton,
Scheer & Grammich, 2010: 3). It is argued that direct employee turnover has been shown to
negatively impact police organisational performance in controlling crime (Hur, 2013: 3-35)
and on long-term police organisational health by potentially stunting leadership development
(Haddad, Giglio, Keller & Lim, 2012). The disruption of career pathways caused by turnover
may have a ripple effect on the entire organisation and can be related to a number of
organisational size, location and structural factors (Wareham, Smith & Lambert, 2013: 1-26).
The indirect implications of turnover include the loss of expertise to the agency, decreased
social networks and contacts, increased use of inexperienced and/or tired staff, insufficient
staffing, and decreased morale (Griffeth, Hom & Gaertner, 2000: 463-488). Social networks
and communication lines are essential for police officers to be effective at their jobs. High
turnover can result in inexperienced officers who have not cultivated these networks with
others, particularly those in the community. Excessive turnover can lead to difficulty
maintaining adequate staffing levels (Koper, Maguire & Moore, 2001). Not only does this
potentially mean less police coverage in the community, it can also lead to decreased quality
of services (Harris & Baldwin, 1999; Lynch & Tuckey, 2008; Wood, 2002).
Furthermore, it is argued that the changing nature of work has had a pronounced
effect on attrition in policing. The movement toward knowledge work, currently transforming
career paths, might be reshaping career expectations in law enforcement. The evolution of
‘boundary-less’ careers has required workers to move between employers to gain knowledge
and competencies that will enhance expertise and employability (Lynch & Tuckey, 2008: 6-
18). This shift heightens the challenges that police organisations face in retention and
succession planning. External factors outside the police practitioners’ control, from changing
generational preferences to budgetary strain, have produced an environment where workforce
decisions, policy and potential solutions for long-term management are leapfrogged by
shifting workforce dynamics that often render proactive planning obsolete. Therefore,
strategies for retention must be an integral part of a police organisation’s workforce
management approach. Understanding the forces that cause attrition can assist police
practitioners in envisioning longitudinal goals for an organisation (Brunetto, Shacklock &
Farr-Wharton, 2012: 428-441).

CURRENT PRACTICES WITHIN THE SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE

According to the SAPS Strategic Plan 2010-2014, the skills development and the retention of
skills was a priority over the period 2010-2014. However, this Strategic Plan 2010-2014 is
silent in terms of providing guidelines regarding what strategies were developed to outline
how the SAPS would go about retaining its current personnel. What the Strategic Plan 2010-
2014 indicates is that:
“…The shortage of skills within the SAPS cannot in all instances be addressed
by the recruitment of personnel and the existing staff establishment must be
developed to provide for certain of the scarce skills required…The developing of
additional training programmes to create pools of skilled personnel and a review

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of the current Scarce Skills Policy (to determine whether or not it is facilitating
the retention of scarce skills), including the realisation of Government’s
objectives contained in the Job Access Strategy, will be undertaken” (SAPS,
2014:16).

The problem with this statement is that the SAPS show a lack of organisational
commitment to address the challenge of retaining experienced detectives. It was reported in
the Pretoria News on the alleged ‘underhand tactics’ attempted by the SAPS to provide a
once-off payment of R30 000 for a police officer that had served five or more years, while a
member serving less than five years would be paid R15 000, as well as members of
specialised units, such as the Forensic Science Laboratory, Computer Crime Investigating
Unit, Communication and Interception Units, the Task Force and various detective units
throughout the country. This ‘retention of skills package’, as part of their new performance
agreement contracts, was begun in 2000/2001 (Hosken, 2004).
This attempt by the SAPS received widespread criticism from the SAPS officials,
since it was perceived as a ‘bribe’ by the scores of highly-trained police officers throughout
South Africa. The response by the SAPS on the alleged attempt was less convincing:

“…All self-respecting organisations have a retention policy in place to ensure

that the services of those employees who have scarce skills and who have
received specialised training – sometimes at a high cost – are retained… The
first contracts were entered into during 2000 and 2001... The SAPS has now
embarked on the retention of scarce skills process… Nothing will happen to
those who have been identified but do not wish to participate. They will retain
their secure employment status” (Hosken, 2004).

The National Development Plan (NDP) (2011) is an all-encompassing plan that offers
a long-term perspective across all spheres of South African society. It identifies the role that
different sectors should play in overcoming lack of service delivery in the public service. The
NDP highlights the fact that there are critical shortages of good quality doctors, engineers,
information technology professionals, forensic specialists, detectives, planners, accountants,
prosecutors, curriculum advisors, among others, in the public service. It is not clear if the
general detectives deployed at the station level, also fall under the category of scarce skills.
The common view is that the ‘general detectives’ a detective not attached to a specialised
detective unit are easily replaceable by experienced detectives once there is a termination of
service. The implications for the SAPS are that it is costly to train personnel and the skills
lost due to voluntary service termination will not be replaced overnight. Research indicates
that losing experienced employees costs considerably more, since these employees’ impact
and contribution are greater than that of average employees. Estimates suggest that the cost of
employee turnover often ranges from 50 percent to 200 percent of the employee’s annual
salary based on the type and level of job he/she holds. These costs are substantial for even
medium-sized organisations that have moderate rates of turnover (Allen, 2008; Cascio, 2010;
O’Connell & Kung, 2007).
The SAPS overall figures captured between the period 2008 to 2013, indicate that the
SAPS lost between 4.0 percent and 14.4 percent of its staff populations either through
voluntarily or involuntarily turnover. This figure was much higher (6 per cent) for the
detectives with fewer officers approximately in the region of between 22 000-24 000 staff
compilation during 2014/2015 financial year. Additionally, separations for nonmedical
retirements appear to be the primary cause of turnover within the SAPS as depicted by Table
1 below.

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Table 1: Statistics on service terminations during 2008-2013

RESIGN
2008/9 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2008-2013
CATEGORY
Retirement 558 471 464 502 730 2 725
Deceased 1 467 1 420 1 348 1 370 1 038 6 643
Resignation 1 427 1 101 911 861 691 4 991
Medical Retirement 374 266 143 250 242 1 275
Contract Expire 93 55 46 23 22 239
Purchasing
1 299 705 793 741 738 4 276
Discharge
Dishonourable
330 313 260 280 162 1 345
Discharge
Transfer Out Of
491 286 267 249 225 1 518
Persal
Other * 418 392 74 112 79 1 075
TOTAL 6 457 5 009 4 306 4 388 3 927 24 087
(SAPS, 2014: 91)

The statistics gathered during or immediately after the 2008/2009 recession, might
have negatively impacted on the SAPS budget to maintain stable workforce within the SAPS.
Specifically, the desire for employees within the Detective Service to be promoted to
perceived better positions and retirements of older members of the workforce, the large
percentage of separations caused by nonmedical retirement contribute to the retention
climate, is a delicate balance to maintain. The impact of losing exceptional employees can be
felt immediately, such as in staffing shortages, or in the long term, such as the reduction of
potential future leadership and talent. This is often referred to as an “organisational plateau,”
or a situation where exceptional employees feel no sense of advancement or career mobility
and thus abandon the agency (Wilson & Heinonen, 2012).

PROBLEM STATEMENT
The South African Police Service (SAPS) is experiencing challenges in the retention of
skilled IOs to various factors including but not limited to; brain drain to private sectors, state
departments on lateral and promotional basis, patrol units, as well as the institutions of higher
learning (Mofokeng, 2010). There seems to be no directives and strategies in place to retain
these skilful IOs. The Minister of Police, the National Commissioner, as well as the Detective
Divisional Commissioner have not succeeded in drafting something concrete to mitigate
current challenges, though on several occasions speeches are made by these individuals
regarding government intentions to address the issues confronting Detective Service.
During 2012 the Portfolio Committee on Police belatedly recognised the necessity to
convene a ‘Detective Dialogue’ where the author, together with other academics from the
University of South Africa (Unisa), as well as Non-Government Organisations (NGOs)
specialising in the area of criminal investigations, were invited to attend this dialogue on
policing, which took place at Parliament in Cape Town on 5 September 2012.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research methods
The author employed a quantitative methodology in the form of a self-administered, pen and
paper-based questionnaire. The questionnaire was structured and contained predominantly
closed ended questions. The aim of the survey was to determine the factors that influenced
the SAPS’s ability to retain experienced detectives. Therefore, the questionnaire focussed on
current practices in areas related to resourcing strategies, career progression challenges,
employee turnover, and employee retention.

Survey design and sampling

A nationwide self-completion survey was designed to capture the perceptions, values and
beliefs of the detectives deployed at station level within the nine provinces of South Africa.
To be able to gather data from these stations, prior arrangements were made to fax copies of
the questionnaire whereby trained fieldworkers assisted as co-ordinators to facilitate the
survey administration. A letter was attached to the questionnaire and forwarded to all
respondents notifying them of the questionnaire and the intended research. In this letter
respondents were informed that the questionnaire is confidential and that no employee
identification data will be stored, and that confidentiality was guaranteed. A random sample
of 1920 respondents were initially targeted and approximately 1198 (62,4%) of surveys were
completed.

Research analysis
Data was entered into SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) and frequencies and
cross tabulations were conducted. Furthermore, ANOVA tests were undertaken on the
statements to test perceptions, values and beliefs of the respondents.

RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

Lack of resources contributes to detectives’ poor performance.
It was greatly disturbing to observe that an overwhelming majority of the respondents
(92.9%) agreed that lack of human and physical resources hampered detectives’ performance.
This does not bode well for an organisation struggling to contest an image of lack of
investigative skill, low morale and poor performance, most powerfully symbolised by the
widespread perception of “poor quality investigation due to lack of inexperienced detectives”
(Mofokeng & De Vries, 2012: 31). The implications for the SAPS are that requests for
human and physical resources by the respondents to their respective commanders are not
considered. This aspect played a negative effect on respondents’ morale and sense of duty as
it adversely affected the overall performance. Without adequate human and physical
resources the SAPS cannot function properly and effectively. Two percent (2.4%) of the
respondents neither agreed nor disagreed. One percent (1.4%) of the respondents provided no
answer to the question. The author is of the view that there are systems in place within the
SAPS, such as Management Information System (MIS) and Resource Allocation Guide
(RAG). The MIS depending on the integrity of data, can play a critical role in assisting police
stations across South Africa with reliable needs analysis regarding how many personnel,
logistical, as well as infrastructure are currently within the Detective Service, as well as how
many are needed to capacitate the Detective Service. Utilising these services optimally will
be an important step towards more efficient use of these human and physical resources.
Since 2004, the SAPS has adopted an in-house information technology-based solution
for the determination of the number and level of posts for police stations and clusters. This
solution-based product, commonly referred to as the RAG, is also used in the Medium Term
Expenditure Framework (MTEF) to determine the budgetary requirements for clusters and

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police stations (SAPS, 2013b: 4). The use of RAG is another planning and tool, whose
usefulness could yield better results if integrity data within the MIS is maintained within the
Detective Service. Sound and effective integrated planning and allocation of resources are
critical for the socioeconomic development and economic growth of any organisation. One
such organisation is the SAPS especially the Detective Service. The utilisation of RAG
within the SAPS should be embraced by all stakeholders within the Detective Service. These
calls for proper audit of what assets in the form of human and logistical resources, as well as
infrastructure are within the Detective Service for the RAG to be effective in projecting the
extent of the need to capacitate the Detective Service. For the Detective Service to provide
adequate service delivery in terms of efficient investigation of reported crimes, constant
feedback with the victims regarding the outcome of the cases reported should be a priority of
the Detective Service, and the investigation of cases, as well as the constant feedback should
be achieved without bringing strenuous pressure on the current personnel. In addition, the
effective planning and adequate staffing within the Detective Service components, through
effective management, reduces the possibility of officials’ burnout and demoralisation. A
variety of measures should reflect the needs and degree to which personnel and physical
resources are efficiently deployed. The findings regarding the lack of adequate resources
within the Detective Service across South Africa are consistent with findings in the literature.
The findings of a study conducted by Hlengane and Bayat (2013: 86) reveal that
respondents at Cambridge Police Station in the Eastern Cape reported lack of resources at the
station as part of a challenge, lack of resources hampers the production at all costs. “Both
human and physical resources at Cambridge Police Station were mentioned by the
respondents as one of the causes, as a result some of the members reported that they utilise
their private vehicles to attend to investigations. Lack of resources also led to overloading of
the members with dockets. In a number of times members cited the transportation between
place of residence and work and another challenge that cause members to perform poorly
hence some members resort to booking off-sick”, which can be an indication of detectives
low morale. Low morale can be destructive in an organisational setting, such as the SAPS,
and can lead to dissatisfaction, poor performance, absenteeism and even turnover (Hlengane
& Bayat, 2013: 86). Stelfox (2009: 1-15), concurs that equally important are the performance
management regimes put into place by police forces to ensure that the resources allocated to
criminal investigation are achieving the policy aims and objectives set for them. There is then
a far wider range of issues involved than simply the relationship between investigators and
their immediate supervisors. The policies, processes and procedures put into place at
government, force and business unit levels influence the outcomes of criminal investigations
as much as, if not more than, the decisions of those directly supervising practitioners.
Within the SAPS, detective commanders should consider how best to use their assets
in the form of human and physical resources at their disposal in a much broader way. They
should not tend to assume that basic purposes and operating objectives of their respective
departments were set long ago and now remain fixed and communicated adequately with
their respective personnel. Creating open communication between detectives and detective
commanders can help foster a sense of community and a shared purpose. By holding regular
meetings in which detectives can offer ideas and ask ‘uncomfortable or uneasy and yet
relevant’ questions, as well as having an open-door policy that encourages detectives to speak
frankly with their commanders without fear of repercussion, would go a long way ensuring
that the detectives are valued. This creates a ‘sense of belonging’ and could directly or
indirectly contribute towards retention of experienced detectives. Change is inevitable and
constant. Gone are the days when the employees within the police environment were
expected to work without questioning processes. It is essential that an environment where
everyone is treated with dignity and respect should be created by the SAPS, where the views

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and skills of detectives are valued, and where performance through quality investigation
improves because the detectives are happier, more motivated and more aware of the benefits
that inclusion can bring. That is the only guarantee towards retention of experienced
detectives. The commander’s job, amongst others, is to optimise performance of the
detectives through constant two-way communication with respect to set objectives. During
this process, all stakeholders are able to consider new challenges, such as economic
meltdown, and how it affects the police budget, threats or opportunities, and discover new
capabilities within their own respective departments. The commanders then, should be
empowered through constant in-service training and workshops to find ways of how to be
innovative in terms of conducting their departments’ day-to-day activities without being
restricted by red tape or orthodox policies and programmes.
Huge workloads result in withdrawal of cases from courts
An overwhelming majority, (89.2%), of the respondents agreed that the huge detective
workload results in the withdrawal of reported and investigated cases from courts. Return on
investment, in terms of allocation of resources and time spent for investigation, goes wasted,
since conviction rates are one way of informing policy makers whether the SAPS is turning
the tide against lawlessness in South Africa. The annual police statistics, though received
with cynicism about their credibility by the wider interest groups in South Africa, highlight
the extent of criminality and the response by the criminal justice system through successful
conviction. High withdrawals of the reported cases signal the overall poor performance by the
criminal justice system. A criminal justice system that fails to do justice through positive
conviction of perpetrators, to earn credibility with the community it governs, can undermine
its effectiveness amongst others; since “it can cause people to resist and subvert the operation
of the criminal justice system” (Robinson; 2015: 403-404). Only six percent (6.1%) of the
respondents disagreed. Four percent (4.1%) of the respondents neither agreed nor disagreed
whereas approximately one percent (0.6%) of the respondents provided no answer to the
question. In the open-ended section of the research instrument for general comments, one of
the respondents said that: “Workload of detectives cause [sic] delays in prosecutions, as cases
aren’t investigated properly and because there is a lack of resources”.
The above findings, as well as such comments from the respondents, appear to be
falling on deaf ears within the Detective Service. The current study did not measure the rate
of withdrawal of cases though it is a common view that due to a lack of adequate skills within
the Detective Service, there were almost as many withdrawals of the cases, especially
complicated or difficult in nature ones brought to court, as convictions and acquittals
combined. The state may withdraw a case for a variety of reasons, but it frequently does so
when there is insufficient evidence to warrant prosecution. This includes situations where
there was inadequate police investigation or where the police docket has been ‘lost’, stolen or
otherwise not presented at court. Mofokeng and De Vries (2012:29), point out that public
prosecutors depend on general detectives to investigate and submit a case docket with
sufficient evidence and witnesses – all of which are crucial to the successful prosecution of
their cases. Given the existing tensions that often characterises the relationships between
detectives and prosecutors, both parties can, and do, benefit from this mutualism.
Accordingly, public prosecutors need to work with the police on an on-going basis.
Mofokeng and De Vries further argue that:
“…in this complex and delicate relations, during the performance on their duties
public prosecutors may reject any inclination to insist on better or more evidence
for a particular case, or, for that matter, to insist on better general detective
practices overall, in an effort to get along with general detectives in the short
term, thus defeating the ends of justice” (Mofokeng & De Vries, 2012: 29).

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The fact that 89.2 percent of the respondents agreed indicated that there is a lack of
capacity within the Detective Service.
The challenge of huge workloads has been on everyone’s lips both within the SAPS,
as well as from the printed media. However, saying is easy but doing has been a specific
challenge for strategists within the SAPS. Turnover can lead to increased frustration among
officers who remain due to increases in workload demands and a loss of social relations with
those colleagues who have left (Drew, Carless & Thompson, 2008). Research indicates that
“If the topic of conversation is not, ‘How are things going?’ but ‘When are you going to
leave?’ then turnover begins to generate further turnover” (Cawsey & Wedley, 1979: 93).
Thus, turnover can also decrease the morale of the officers who remain, ultimately
leading to demoralisation (Harris & Baldwin, 1999: 483-493). In sum, turnover is potentially
very costly to law enforcement agencies (Kiekbusch, Price & Theis, 2003: 67-76). A
reduction in turnover could save law enforcement agencies substantial expenditures over the
long run. It is a fact that seasoned detectives are being lured into lucrative jobs by private
companies, leaving behind a massive challenge for the SAPS to train new staff. However, it
is the right of every employee to change employment if they see growth in the new offers
presented to them. Therefore the issue of working conditions at police station level should not
just be swept under the carpet as one of the realities of policing that cannot be changed. It
needs political will to address the disparities facing the state of policing, especially the
working conditions under which detectives find themselves. Respondents’ views were
consistent with findings in the literature. Redpath (2002) points out that poor performance of
detectives can be attributed to countless factors, such as uncertain career paths, inappropriate
promotion policies, insufficient training, the unmanageable workload, and the skills drain.
Many skilled detectives have left the service, largely as a result of an inability to perform
their work properly given the capacity and other constraints they face. Few former detectives
that were interviewed for the study said they had left because of poor pay.
Lack of career path possibilities for detectives discourages me from performing better
An overwhelming majority of the respondents (72.9%) agreed compared with nineteen
percent (19.3%) who disagreed that a lack of career path possibilities for detectives
discourages me from performing better. Approximately seven percent (6.7%) of the
respondents neither agreed nor disagreed. One percent (1.1%) of the respondents provided no
answer to the question. In the open-ended section of the questionnaire for general comments,
one respondent said that: “Detectives don't get allowance or promotion … promote ranks …
investigation is interesting, only problem is the ranks are limited … promotion for detectives
is poor … promotion in the Detective Service is not easy to achieve”.
It is a worrying factor if an overwhelming majority of respondents (72.9%) agreed
that the lack of career path possibilities discourages respondents from performing better. It is
argued that financial remuneration does not sustain motivation. There is a common view
relevant to HRP and for the purpose of this article to the Detective Commanders as well, that
says ‘If you're only willing to pay peanuts, then you'll only get monkeys.’ If there are no
provisions in place to retain detectives with skills and motivation, then the SAPS will be seen
as a mine where diamonds are discovered and polished, and thereafter snatched up by those
who will benefit from the discovered treasure, in this case private organisations and other
state departments.
It was evident from the findings that the fruits of training detectives will never be
fully realised owing to a lack of career path possibilities for detectives within the SAPS.
Those detectives who decide to wait for their retirement by just “going with the flow” will
lose their sense of duty; low morale will creep in which will result in a discouraged
workforce that will turn from being an asset to becoming a liability. It has been argued that
joining the service is serving the public. A person becomes a servant of the community.

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However, it is a given that all people have dreams and aspirations to see themselves
progressing in life (Dooling, 1994; Walker, 2012; Walvin, 2000). So even if detectives may
be viewed in the context of ‘the bigger picture’ where they have to serve the community, they
too have aspirations that should be considered if the ideal of retaining skilled, motivated
people within the SAPS is to be realised.
The views of respondents were consistent with findings reported in the literature.
Bostaph (2007: 405-417), asserts that workers must be presented with opportunities to be
productive (effort performance), know which behaviours will be rewarded (instrumentality),
and understand how rewards are distributed (performance reward). These three constructs
then combine to provide an individualised cost-benefit analysis in which a worker sees
greater rewards than costs for the specified behaviour (DeJong, Mastrofksi & Parks as cited
by Bostaph, 2007: 405-417). If the rewards are greater than the costs, the worker is a high
producer (Bostaph, 2007: 405-417).
More experienced detectives resign due to inadequate rewards
An overwhelming majority of the respondents (86.5%) agreed that more experienced
detectives resign as a result of inadequate rewards, whereas six percent (6.4%) disagreed. An
additional six percent (6.4%) of the respondents neither agreed nor disagreed and less than
one percent (0.7%) of the respondents provided no answer to the question. Comments offered
by respondents in the open-ended section of the questionnaire included the following:
“I suggest that members that have undergone the detective training be rewarded
or accredited …. detectives should be supplied with proper resources. Detectives
are given less [sic] opportunities.… detectives who received training's salary
should be increased.… encourage detectives to be a learning organisation to
improve their skills …. motivate them …. more resources, more rewards for
detectives as they are overworked and under paid.… the promotion in the
Detective Service is not easy to get.… Allowance should be considered for
detectives”.
It is disheartening that 86.5 percent of the respondents agreed. While turnover within
the SAPS is inevitable and can even be healthy, high turnover levels can have a number of
negative consequences especially within the Detective Service. It can be assumed that the
exodus of experienced detectives can be linked with the rates of sickness or absenteeism
often reported to be high and unmanageable (Safety and Security Sector Education and
Training Authority (SASSETA), 2012: 12). According to the SASSETA report, in the eight
departments and entities within the public service, 4 880 years of work were lost to sick leave
in one year. Sick leave was particularly high within SAPS. Interestingly, senior managers
seem to take less sick leave than the other occupational groups (SASSETA, 2012: 12). This
could be the underlying factor of low morale and calls for urgent attention from the SAPS
that there is a need for reassessment of the work-life balance of the detectives. The
indications of absenteeism and high turnover within the Detective Service would eventually
likely to become a more frequent response by the detectives due to lack of rewards and low
morale and, when it does; it will create a huge problem the SAPS has been able to rely in the
past upon the goodwill of its detectives.
Because of a lack of career path opportunities for detectives within the SAPS, the
implications for the SAPS are that the remaining detectives could adopt low work ethics
characterised by amongst others; delayed investigations that can result in the high withdrawal
of cases, serious crimes that are not investigated and known offenders who are a threat to
public safety, committing crime with impunity. Based on the findings, it seems there was a
prevailing mood of being marginalised by, and detached from, the organisation, of being
devalued, exploited and helpless to bring about any change in organisational priorities within

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the Detective Service. Ultimately, this can be expected to have an adverse effect on the
motivation of detectives, if it has not already done so. There are already indications of this in
some provinces where detectives are refusing to work outside normal office hours. While this
is admittedly also the result of the assessments made by detectives of their work-life balance
it indicates that they are no longer prepared to stay on duty out of a sense of loyalty to the
organisation. Due to the lack of adequate capacity within the Detective Service, the entry
requirements for prospective detectives seem to have been relaxed considerably. There are no
longer strict requirements, such as two years’ experience within the operational environment,
for entry into the Detective Service, and in some instances a recruit may be appointed in the
Detective Service the moment they start their probation period.
It is only when such recruits have entered the Detective Service that they realise that
they cannot cope with the rigorous demands of the Detective Service. However, the
presentation by the SAPS, in response to the recommendation by the Parliamentary Portfolio
Committee on Police, indicated that detectives are still recruited from members of Visible
Policing, who are already well experienced in statement taking, crime scene management,
victim interviewing and empowerment, as well as suspect interviewing.
According to the SAPS, detectives are also recruited at entry level direct at the
training institutions and members are thereafter sent for a full Detective Training Course
(ROC) at the training institutions and after training they are posted directly at the Detective
Service. However, this method of recruitment is being reconsidered to ensure that detectives
are recruited from amongs those who have acquired at least two years of practical policing
experience (SAPS, 2008: 9).
To find a working solution for this challenge, the SAPS should put in place a
mechanism to determine why police officers and detectives who have left the SAPS have
done so. This suggests that an ‘exit questionnaire’ should be developed and implemented.
This would which will involve directly contacting former detectives. Although this may be
time consuming and costly, it can be a fruitful undertaking. It is envisaged that such data can
ultimately help improve the officer selection process and reduce the rates of attrition. The
findings pertaining to these views by the respondents are supported by findings in the
literature. The findings by Hlengane and Bayat (2013: 86), indicated that 43.3 percent of the
respondents reported that SAPS members lacked motivation due to several aspects. These
included, inter alia: personal needs not being met; treatment by the commanders that was not
appropriate; lack of appreciation by commanders; performance appraisals indicating a lack of
recognition; scarcity of promotion opportubnities; favouritism; low salaries; and poor
communication. Hlengane and Bayat (2013: 86), further reported that 86.7 percent of the
respondents reported that they were not satisfied with their current commanders. Also that the
members did not feel any sense of satisfaction in their job, with respondents also indicating
their intentions to search for ‘greener pastures’ if given the opportunity. Furthermore, the
Secretariat for Safety and Security findings on the Hout Bay Police Station, confirmed that
the exodus and transfer of experienced and trained detectives had already then begun to
impact negatively on service delivery (Secretariat for Safety and Security, 2011: 4). This
situation has been further compounded due to the fact that those detectives leaving the SAPS
are not being replaced, or at least not in sufficient numbers.
More cases are withdrawn from courts due to inexperienced detectives
An overwhelming majority of the respondents (78.3%) agreed that more cases are withdrawn
from courts due to inexperienced detectives, whereas ten percent (9.9%) disagreed that more
cases are withdrawn from courts due to inexperienced detectives. Approximately eleven
percent (10.8%) of the respondents neither agreed nor disagreed and less than one percent
(0.9%) of the respondents provided no answer to the question. In the open-ended section for
general comments, one respondent made the following statement:

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“Training [of detectives] should start after basic training. Specialist training for
properly screened candidates… training of detectives should not be a onetime
thing; detectives should be equipped… the recruitment of detective component
must encourage educational qualification, namely degree or a diploma”.
It was indeed disturbing to observe that a significant majority (78.3%) of the
respondents were of the view that cases were withdrawn from courts due to inexperienced
detectives. The findings indicated the need for developing strategies that will facilitate the
recruiting, mentoring and retention of detectives. Detectives are often solitary workers,
spending most of their time on the job unsupervised. At all times they must be able to make
sound decisions and adjust quickly to changing situations during the investigation of crime.
But this is complicated by the fact of being confronted with huge workloads, characterised by
high stress levels – all the while having to act ethically and in keeping with the Code of
Conduct, and maintain a high work ethic and ‘professionalism.’ For these reasons, Detective
Services must attempt to recruit and retain the best individuals possible. Although it can be
argued that mentoring inexperienced detectives will require a a great deal of effort, especially
taking into consideration time and cost implications, this process has become inevitable and
the delays in implementing such from the side of the SAPS will only compound the existing
challenge of a lack of detetective skills capacity.
The cost of losing a case in a court of law, as a result of ‘half baked’ cases, cannot be
equated with the amount of effort that needs to be put into place by the SAPS to mentor
junior or inexperienced detectives. The findings of this study indicate that the Detective
Service Branch of the SAPS is facing serious challenges ranging from inadequate and
inexperienced detectives to the inequitable allocation of dockets to certain detectives. This
situation has already resulted in some detectives being allocated more than two hundred
dockets each to investigate. These findings were also corroborated in the 2011 Secretariat for
Safety and Security report on the Hout Bay Police Station (Secretariat for Safety and
Security, 2011: 4-5).
Low level of training contributes to a large number of cases being withdrawn by
prosecutors
An overwhelming majority of the respondents (88.3%) agreed that the low level of training
contributes to a large number of cases being withdrawn by prosecutors whereas only six
percent (5.9%) disagreed. Approximately five percent (4.9%) of the respondents neither
agreed nor disagreed while just under one percent (0.8%) of the respondents provided no
answer to this question. The inability to identify with the current priorities of the Detective
Service, frustrated at the manner in which training was not being adequately introduced thus
affecting the detection rates – leading to the creation of the illusion of success in tackling
crime - all only served to undervalue the skilled investigative efforts of detetives and resulted
in them feeling marginalised and disillusioned. While the respondents were of the view that
resources being poured into other policing environments, such as the crime prevention units,
has led to these feelings of marginalisation among detectives, since they struggle to find the
time to update their skills through training in order to investigate effectively the more serious
crimes in their heavy caseloads. Lack of training for the detectives could mean that
convictions are considered not to be of concern to detective commanders. The implications
are that the failure of detective commanders to send their detectives to attend adequate
training could contribute to detectives’ lack of experience regarding the criminal
investigation process.
The unavailability of mentors to supervise through to completion of ongoing
investigations, and the lack of experience of many in investigating crime, mean they are
unable to give detectives the advice they need on how to handle incidents. As a consequence,

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detectives find themselves in the situation where ‘half baked’ cases are produced that will
inevitably result in the withdrawal of cases.
The views from the respondents on training indicated that training does affect the
capacity of the Detective Service and correlate with the arguments in Morule’s (2007) budget
speech to the Free State Legislature. Morule argued that areas, such as poor police
investigation, had been attributed to poor police station management and the absence of
effective systems of command and control, which ultimately prompted the need to strengthen
the police stations. Schönteich, as cited by Kane-Berman (2002), concurs that poorly
investigated cases, where no statements are taken from potentially corroborating witnesses,
where incomplete or inaccurate statements are taken, or where evidence is obtained in an
illegal manner, are likely to result in the acquittal of a guilty accused. Even a good
prosecutor, let alone an inexperienced one, will find it difficult to salvage a case where
crucial aspects of its investigation are flawed.
Redpath (2002) points out that poor performance of detectives is attributed to
countless factors, such as uncertain career paths to becoming a detective, inappropriate
promotion policies, insufficient training, the unmanageable workload, and the skills drain.
Many skilled detectives have left the service, largely as a result of an inability to perform
their work properly given the capacity and other constraints they face. Few former detectives
that were interviewed for the study said they had left because of poor pay. However, Bruce
(2000) argues that rather than detectives focusing on specialised investigative techniques, a
focus on improving more ‘routine’ investigative aspects (including particularly the
identification and debriefing of witnesses) may have the greatest potential to improve the
clearance rate of the SAPS and more importantly, to improve the quality of cases that are
presented by the SAPS to courts.
Maximum of 18 case dockets is an ideal workload per detective
An overwhelming majority of the respondents (73.2%) agreed with this statement, whereas
only 16.9 percent disagreed. Approximately nine percent (8.9%) of the respondents neither
agreed nor disagreed with the statement and one percent (1.1%) of the respondents provided
no answer to the question. It was clear that, given the crime rate in South Africa, this can only
realistically be accomplished by increasing the number of detectives to such an extent that it
will be possible for each detective to investigate no more than 18 cases. Due to pressure to
complete a certain number of cases per month, it is possible that most cases not being given
adequate attention in the current dispensation will not be effectively investigated at all due to
resource constraints. However, even with the extraordinary levels of commitment and
professional pride displayed by some of the detectives, overworked detectives cannot
maintain the standards expected by society, communities and individual citizens. The high
demands of detective work may prove even more difficult to maintain due to other factors
such as inadequate logistical and human resources that seek to ‘squeeze’ out any remaining
motivation from individual detectives.
Research indicates that those long or ‘excessive’ working hours can lead to highly
detrimental outcomes for police officers, their families, the organisation and the communities
they serve, health, family relationships, and the quality of service delivery to victims of crime
will all suffer eventually (Amendola, Weisburd, Hamilton, Jones & Slipka, 2011; Facer &
Wadsworth, 2010). For the purpose of this article, such harmful effects as a result of long
working hours are magnified when detectives are subjected to huge volumes of cases to
investigate, a situation worsened without any compensation (e.g. overtime pay). Most of the
detectives routinely work unpredictable and enforced overtime due to the demands of their
work. The findings from the respondents are consistent with those in Pienaar and Rothmann’s
(2006: 72-78) report. Pienaar and Rothmann found that the average number of criminal cases
managed by each detective varied from 32 (Northern Cape) to 52 (Eastern Cape), with a

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national average of 43. A rule of thumb is that each detective should not investigate more
than 18 cases. Redpath (2002) concurs that large disparities still remain in resource allocation
among police stations. There needs to be a quicker response to changes in local crime
conditions and the allocation of resources to follow such needs. Allocation of detectives and
corresponding resources (such as motor vehicles) should be based on the violent crime rate
for an area.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is imperative, therefore, that to ensure a more holistic perspective of general detectives,
strategic approaches be derived in order to mitigate challenges faced by the Detective
Service. This can be achieved by considering as a strategic perspective within the Detective
Service, and in balance with other factors such as inadequate budget allocation, re-skilling of
every general detective in all areas of the investigation of crimes, the entrenching of
principles of good governance in detective commanders. These strategic approaches should
reflect the decisions made at various station levels that involve trade-offs between traditional
performance measurements, knowledge management and risk management. As with any
organisation, either within public or private sector, the SAPS is beset by overarching general
governance structures that should not only gather dust in glass door cabinets at detective
commanders’ offices but rather be reflected in the day-to-day activities of general detectives.
Therefore, the following additional recommendations are proposed:
1. Recommendations on strategic approach to recruitment and retention
The SAPS should develop standards of competence as additional criteria for those who want
to enlist in the Detective Service. It is essential that that these competencies should specify
the underpinning knowledge, understanding and skills that are essential for competent
performance. Criteria to assess whether an individual detective is performing competently
should also be formulated and applied. This could be achieved by, amongst others:
- Developing standards of competence for general detectives, which will partly depend on
ensuring the right kind of environment within which to work for potential detectives;
- selecting the right individuals to undertake the role
- maintaining a close eye on appropriate career progression and upward mobility, and;
- anticipating changes within the context in which they work.
Such factors should be acknowledged within future training programmes, and in the SAPS’
recruitment and retention policies.
2. Possible strategic approaches for recruitment and retention of general detectives
- Offering part-time employment for retired detectives. SAPS can offer the option of
part-time work as a key strategy to attract and retain experienced detectives,
especially top performers.
- Development of more structured career paths for general detectives in order to
increase the attractiveness of the general detective role as opposed to that of
supervising or mentoring detectives.
- SAPS should monitor its staff turnover rate and develop an exit interview process for
general detectives leaving the organisation. This process should be consistently
applied across South Africa and the feedback be utilised as qualitative data that can
inform senior management, Division Career Management, as well as SAPS Strategic
Management Component. Based on the information at their disposal regarding these
strategic components of SAPS, highlighting the factors causing general detectives to

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resign, they should then enable the organisation to develop strategies to address these
issues.
- Ensure that the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Police improves the working
conditions of general detectives. During parliamentary briefings regarding policing
related matters such resources, promotion and improved working conditions, as well
as the retention strategy, SAPS top management should seek the commitment of
politicians especially the Treasury, Minister of Finance and President of South Africa
to revisit the allocation of budget on policing.
CONCLUSION
This article has highlighted some factors that influenced the retention of experienced
detectives. The findings indicated that the retention policy yet to be developed within the
SAPS to retain its employees. The implications for the delay in the development of a
retention policy are that little or no attention has been given to the cost of losing skilled
employees, especially detectives. It is important for the SAPS policy makers, HRP, as well as
Detective Commanders to first have a full understanding of the organisational and financial
investment the SAPS has in its employees. As highlighted earlier in this article, there is a
common view that general detectives are easily replaceable compared with those from
specialised units. The author is of the view that: often there is a tendency within the SAPS to
focus on the short-term costs of replacing the detective and ignore the investment that has
compounded over the years.
Much of the knowledge and experience an officer possesses can only be obtained on
the job. Thus, when a detective is recruited by an external organisation and leaves the SAPS,
the knowledge and experience the SAPS invested in such an individual detective is lost
forever. This investment serves as a substantial boost to the new employer. For the Detective
Service to survive in today’s ever increasing competition, where employee poaching is on the
rise, it is very important to retain their experienced detectives and keep them committed
towards the organisation. This could be realised by introducing reforms that will benefit the
detectives by creating a career path for the detectives, constantly monitoring that all
detectives attend advanced training to enhance their investigative capacity, as well as
introducing rotation of responsibilities within the Detective Service. Recruiting additional
detectives will go a long way toward alleviating the current unbearably heavy workload to a
more manageable level thereby improving on the work-balance lifestyles within the Detective
Service. These strategies are just the beginning toward creating a strong committed work
force. The real challenge then, for the SAPS, is to retain experienced detectives. On the other
hand, the loss of experienced detectives cripples the functioning of the wider criminal justice
system in South Africa. Shaw argues that:
“the transformation of the most publicly visible component of the criminal
justice system is still far from complete. But equally serious problems
characterise the system further along, these are primarily in the areas of the
detection of crime, the prosecution of offenders and in the system of
incarceration” (Shaw, 1996: 1).
In order properly to ‘diagnose’ a failing criminal justice system, the policy makers
should understand the real nature of this failure, by getting to the bottom of criminal justice
failure, namely: the SAPS Detective Service. As skilled detectives resign from the service,
the ability of the Detective Service to detect and successfully convict offenders has not kept
pace with the increase in recorded crime due to the absence of formal retention policy. The
author’s analysis is based on a comparison of the Detective Service throughputs, in particular
successful convictions against suspected offences recorded by the police. The evidence from

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the findings is clear that respondents felt there were no career prospects within the Detective
Service. The absence of a retention policy is a clear indication of the lack of support from the
SAPS to look after the wellbeing of the detectives in the form of promotion, reduction of
workload and better working conditions. Therefore, it is no wonder then why experienced
and hardworking detectives are demoralised and resign from the SAPS.
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