Volume 7, Issue 3, March – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology

ISSN No:-2456-2165

Constructing an Intergrated Service Excellence Model

for the South African Police Service
Dr. John Motsamai Modise Prof. (Dr.) Derek Taylor, Prof. (Dr.) Kishore Raga
South African Police Service Professor Emeritus: Nelson Mandela University

Abstract:- The central purpose of this study, which is of every police officer should be professional and offered in
situated in the community of practice of the South the best interests of the public. (It is key to note that the
African Police Services (SAPS), is to establish an public sector is contingent on public scrutiny.) The above-
integrated service excellence template, with which to mentioned principles highlight the importance of public
improve service standards. This upgrade will be to the administration being run along ethical lines as this is critical
benefit of the SAPS as a whole as well as to the for the effective implementation of a principled framework
advantage of the citizens living in the Northern Cape within the SAPS.
Province in particular. The development of a service
excellence model which will be used to assess the services The SAPS has a Service Delivery Improvement
provided by the SAPS is justified, because this tool is a Programme (SDIP) that aims to improve service delivery to
crucial means of upgrading the assistance offered by the communities at a local level (South African Police Service
SAPS to the civilian population. Unfortunately service Journal, 2006:6-19). This initiative provides police station
failures negatively impact community interconnections managers with practical tools to implement enhanced
and SAPS promotion efforts, which often leads to a ‘last service delivery while also attempting to instil a culture of
ditch’ endeavour to restore clients’ satisfaction through first-hand management and an increase in community
service recovery efforts. So, implementing improved involvement. This worldview is embodied in the mission
services from the outset will be beneficial to both the statement of the SDIP: "The primary goal is service to the
SAPS and the community as a whole. This article public" (SAPS s.a.:78). Interestingly recent research by the
adopted a qualitative research methodologywhich Institute for Security Studies (ISS) at 45 of the 219 SAPS
allowed the researcher to reflect, to verify the research priority police stations in South Africa, indicates that the
question and to corroborate the problem statement. This majority of clients who dealt directly with the police were
article makes actionable recommendations, emanating satisfied with the services they received. This is in sharp
from the research findings. contrast to the popular narrative among the general public
regarding perceptions of the police (ISS, 2001).
Keywords:- South African Police Service; Service delivery;
Service failure, Service quality, Service recovery, Service Excellent service delivery is critical to the client’s
excellence, Complaint management, Customer service, perception of the merit and worth of an institution, is core to
Customer satisfaction, Customer expectation. its favourable review and, ultimately the advancement of the
organisation. Outstanding customer service includes “the
I. INTRODUCTION essential aspects of expedient service delivery; open and
honest communication; individual, personalised service;
Policing encompassesa wide range of services and engendering customer loyalty; problem-solving; under-
offers diverse assistance to the population, which can be promising and over-delivering; meeting and exceeding
assigned to discrete government bureaus. Police agencies expectations; efficient use of infrastructure, systems and
worldwide have a common purpose: to deliver “effective procedures to facilitate efficient operations and, in
and efficient service to the communities in which they are particular, effective use of knowledge management with a
situated” (Sonderling, 2003:1).The South African Police focus on customer lifecycle care” (Kingstone, Tipper, Ristic
Service in its objectives similarly emphasizes the and Ngan, 2004:269-271).
importance of providing effectual and constructive solutions
to its clients i.e. the South African public (SAPS (i), Internationally, organisations involved in service
2005:5). The values of the SAPS are recorded in the industries have placed an emphasis on achieving user glee
strategic plan for 2020-2025 and include supplying “a through service excellence. This allows these institutions to
responsible effective and highly quality service with honesty secure their position relative to their competition and to
and integrity.” establish positive, long-term user relationship (Gouthier,
Giese and Barth, 2012:447-464). Service excellence,
The Constitutional mandate of the SAPS (according to therefore, refers to the provision of an exceptional service
Section 205 (1) (2) (3) of the Constitution of the Republic of standard through an active, participatory, management
South Africa, 1996) deals with the establishment of the administration, which exceeds the customer’s prior
police service and catalogues its functions as follows: “to expectations and results in not only customer appreciation
prevent, combat and investigate crime, to maintain public but also customer pleasure and consequently an escalation
order, to protect and secure the inhabitants of the Republic of customer loyalty (Enquist, Edvardsson and Sebhatu,
and their property, and uphold and enforce the law”. 2011:535-551).
Cheminais, Bayat and Van der Waldt (1998:81) state that
when providing safety and security to civilians, the conduct

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Volume 7, Issue 3, March – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
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II. LITERATURE REVIEW they must be democratic in their internal procedures
and in their relations with the public;
The legislation which is relevant to the upgrading of they should be accessible, informative, accountable
service delivery is briefly discussed below: and open to public scrutiny.”
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 The notion of putting ‘People First’ in respect to public
(Act 108 of 1996) Section 2 states: service delivery is set out in the White Paper on
Transforming Public Service Delivery (WPTPSD, 1997).
“This Constitution is the supreme law of the Republic, Chapter 11 of this report sets down the mission statement
law or conduct inconsistent with it is invalid, and the below to identify and guarantee the following strategies
obligations imposed by it must be fulfilled” which promote and improve the standard of service
Moreover, Section 197(1)stipulates: delivery:

“Within public administration there is a public service “list services to be provided, to which groups, and at
for the Republic, which must function and be structured in which service charges;
terms of national legislation, and which must loyally execute catalogue priorities, the principles of affordability, and
the lawful policies of the government-of-the-day.” the principle of redirecting resources to areas and groups
previously under-resourced;
Section 195(1) of the Constitution focuses on the define outputs and targets of service standards and
conduct of public officials in the three spheres of performance indicators; benchmark these against
government: “public administration must be governed by the comparable international standards;
democratic values and principles enshrined in the monitor and evaluate mechanisms and structures
Constitution”. The researcher stresses the importance of designed to measure progress and introduce corrective
“human dignity, the achievement of equality, the action;
advancement of human rights and freedoms, non-racialism checklist plans for staffing, human resource
and non-sexism” (which are listed in Section 1) to the development and organisational capacity building, tailored
smooth running of public-service delivery. to boost service delivery needs;
redirect human and other resources from administrative
Additional principles that specifically speak to public tasks to service provision, particularly crucial for
service delivery (listed in Section 195(1) are: disadvantaged groups and areas;
record financial plans that link budgets directly to
“services must be provided impartially, fairly, service needs and personnel plans;
equitably and without bias; identify potential partnerships with the private sector,
people’s needs must be responded to and the public NGOs or community organizations which will provide more
must be encouraged to participate in policy-making; effective forms of service delivery; and developa culture of
efficient, economic and effective use of resources must customer care and anapproach to service delivery that is
be promoted; sensitive to issues of race, gender and disability.”
transparency must be fostered by providing the public
with timely, accessible and accurate information; and III. NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN (NDP) 2030
public administration must be development-oriented.”
The National Development Plan (NDP) of 2030
White Paper on the Transformation of the Public proposes a comprehensive approach to resolving the causes
Service (WPTPS), 1995& 1997 of crime. It involves an active citizenry working closely and
responsibly with both state and non-state candidates.
The focus of the WPTPS (1995) is: Chapter 12 of the NDP identifies ‘Building Safer
Communities’ as a key objective. Berg, Cartwright, Lamb
“…to establish a framework to guide the introduction and Mc Donald (2014:7) suggest that the NPD 2030 is
and implementation of new policies and legislation aimed at compatible with the National Planning Commission (2012)
transforming the South African public service”. which states that once democratic policing in South Africa
The WPTPS (1997) describes the transformation of the has been achieved, the police service will be demilitarised
Public Service in South Africa in to an elected, prototypical, and professionally run. Furthermore the NDP 2030 expects
exemplary member for executing government policies and the police to “serve the community, safeguard lives and
thereby meeting the needs of the people. property without discrimination, protect the peaceful against
violence and the weak against intimidation, and respect the
The following concepts are a guide to the process: constitutional rights of all to equality and justice”.
“service providers should be committed to the
provision of high quality services to all South Africans in an In order to achieve this vision, the NDP has identified
unbiased and impartial manner; as essential an integrated crime elimination approach
they should be efficient, effective and productive as incorporating a well-functioning criminal justice system, the
well as responsive to the needs of the public; police, an unbiased prosecuting authority& judiciary andan
they should be representative of all sections and levels efficiently run correctional services system. In accordance
of South African society;

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Volume 7, Issue 3, March – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
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with these needs, the NDP has identified the following six IV. CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT:
priorities to achieving a crime-free South Africa:
There are seven central initiatives in offering client service,
“strengthening the criminal justice system; as highlighted by Pegler (2002:42). These steps mirror the
professionalising the police service; Principles of Batho Pele (people first).They are defined
demilitarising the police service; below:
increasing the rehabilitation of prisoners and reducing  Step 1: Define the customer satisfaction objectives and the
recidivism; strategy to be implemented to achieve these
building safety using an integrated approach; and objectives/goals
increasing community participation in safety.” Identify both the customer and the institution’s goals; set
deliverables to realize the goals according to the
The NDP places significant emphasis on the part local customers’ requirements.
government plays in identifying the root cause of crime  Step 2: Segment the customer-base
(including the economic and social factors), the safety needs Sort the customers according to their diverse and unique
of individual communities as well as integrating unique traits.
safety and security measures into their future projects.  Step 3: Identify crucial needs and any/all performance
According to Fox (2005: 59-60) treating inhabitants of gaps
an area as ‘customers’ is helpful as it impliesthat the It is essential that institutions identify the key needs to
principles that are fundamental to the provision of services achieving their goals and the gaps in their performance,
for commercial gain are equally important in public service and strive towards effecting continuous improvement in
delivery. These include: order to meet their goals.
Listening to and acting on the needs and views of  Step 4: Develop programmes to improve performance
customers when making decisions about which services Institutions need to factor in customer care in their
should be offered to them; development of programmes that are geared to meeting
Treating all customers with respect; their deliverables.
Ensuring that the promised service delivery is suitable  Step 5: Constant monitoring of changes in customer
and of the highest quality; behaviours
Responding quickly and empathetically and should the Proactive institutions listen to customer responses and
level of service fall below the promised excellent standard. adjust their service delivery to meet the client’s needs.
 Step 6: Improve customer satisfaction
Madjid, Hadiwidjojo, Surachman and Djumahir The focus on e-Governance systems is of particular
(2013:55) describe service as “a valuable action, deed, or relevance to current Governmental service delivery, for
effort performed to satisfy a need or to fulfil a demand for example SARS e-Filing and Multi-Purpose Community
someone”. Due to the unique nature of customer service, Centre’s (MPCCs).Appropriate and professional use of
customer support agents have a significant impact on the information technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to
formation of customer expectations, managing and bring services closer to the people through the mode of
controlling customer experiences and shaping the final communication automation is pivotal this step.
evaluation of the clientassistence (Gazzoli, Hancer and Kim,  Step 7: Continuous measurement ofprogress toward
2013:382). improved advancement
Performance development programmes must be ongoing,
Kotler and Armstrong (2014:248) further add that should pivot on a holistic approach and should aim to be
“services are a form of product that consists of activities, institution-wide to achieve the goals set out in step 1.
benefits, or satisfactions offered for sale that are essentially
intangible and do not result in ownerp of anything”. According to Andreassen (1994: 22), maintaining a
Solomon, Marshall and Stuart (2012:19) argue that services value-based relationship with the customers (whom it should
are helpful products that are supplied by the producer and be remembered Government Agencies, including the SAPS,
for the customer. A ‘service’ is “an activity, process or set of are called to serve) is dependent on three principal factors:
steps which involve the handling of a customer or something
belonging to them, where the customer is also involved, and understanding the customers’ needs both current and
performs some role, in the service process” (Johnston, Clark future; turn this understanding into actions which are
and Shulver, 2012:12). These opinions are very close to the implemented right across the institution/organization; and
standpoint of this researcher who feels that within the SAPS designing and implementing a marketing mix which quickly
all assistance and activityshould take place with the goal of and effectively adapts their company’s understanding of
satisfying the customer’s needs and enhancing their their customers’ requirements based on the customer’s
experience at community service centres and stations. responses.

This approach leads to effecting continuous

improvements in service delivery and results in long-term
exceptional quality.

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Volume 7, Issue 3, March – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
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V. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM VI. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The African Peer Review Mechanism Report identified The objective of the research is formulated by stating
poor service delivery as anarea which South Africa has to the problem and provides the angle from which the research
address as it has a significant impact on the quality of will be conducted. Maree and Van der Westhuizen
governance (Mkhabela and Eshmael, 2007:8). The South (2011:28) state that “the rationale stands as a statement of
African Police Service is not immune from that impact. how a researcher developed an interest in a particular topic
Numerous studies conducted on the standard of customer or area of research”. In this study the main objective will be:
service offered by the South African Police Service reveal to develop an integrated service excellence model that can
that most people are not receiving the quality of service that be used as a framework or measuring instrument, to
they are entitled to in terms of the Batho Pele (People First) establish the perceptions that communities hold with regard
Principles (Philips and Hardy, 2002; Gqada, 2004; Bardien, to services which the SAPS supplies, in the Northern Cape
2005; Zondi, 2012).Over the years the White Paper on province. The design of such a model is justified, because
Transforming Public Service Delivery (SA, 1997) has been assessing conduct is an essential means to improving the
reviewed in an effort to develop strategies that will succeed SAPS customer services.In order to achieve the main
in improving public service delivery and educate citizens objective, the following sub-objectives will be analysed:
about their rights and how, by exercising these rights, to  Determine and deeply explorethe problems that will need
access government services responsibly. to be addressed to obtain service excellence;
 Identify and describe management tools and approaches
Complaints are one of the measures that can be used to that can be used to enhancequality in the quest for five star
assess the calibre of services rendered by the SAPS. The service;
Independent Complaints Directorate’s annual report for  Conduct a literature study on relevant theories of service
2016/17 indicates that the SAPS received 7014 complaints excellence;
against its members (Independent Complaints Directorate
 Develop a non-discriminatory model to be used to
2016/17). Of these 319 cases came from the Northern Cape
improve service quality in, and the assistance provided to
police force which equates to 28% of the total. Complaints
clients by, the SAPS.
generated from the Northern Cape are relatively high in
comparison with provinces such as the Eastern Cape, A. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Mpumalanga, North West and Limpopo which measured According to Flick (2011:103) the research question is
46%; 23%; 14% and 5% respectively. Of importance is the often the steering inquiry that emphasises the focus of the
fact that the Northern Cape is the least populated province in study from a comprehensive perspective. The research
the country with a population of approximately 1,214,000 question of this study is:
million people (2,1% = Northern Cape population as a
percentage of the total population), nevertheless the Is there a lack of understanding concerning the service
Northern Cape remains the province with the smallest delivery process, from the clients point of view, of services
percentage of complaints as compared to the above- provided by the South African Police Service in the
mentioned provinces which have population figures that Northern Cape?
vary from 4 million to 7 million in people (Stats, SA-
2017:5). The research question is governed by a literature
review and clarified by the research design and
According to a study conducted by Schwartz (2007:3), methodology.
numerous complaints of poor service delivery (including the
non-attendance to complaints by the East Rand Police B. JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY
Service) have been lodged with independent watchdogs. A deduction has been made that the findings of this
There has been considerable speculation about the reason study, if implemented, will benefit both South African
for this with many senior officers and station commanders communities and the SAPS. It will help the SAPS to
assuming that a lack of discipline and the demilitarisation of understand the perceptions of community members, the
the SAPS may be responsible for the poor service delivery. relationship of service and service quality with customer
They believe that although police officers are competent, satisfaction as well as addressing customer expectation and
they do not provide a polished service because it demands complaints management within the SAPS.
more effort and input than they are willing to give.
Consequently, police officers seem to have adopted a The study will make an important contribution to the
negative attitude towards customer service. existing body of knowledge by empirically testing the
influence of service quality on the other stated constructs,
which will pinpoint and link the service quality gaps that the
SAPS should fill to overcome customer dissatisfaction and
negative word of mouth (WOM) communication by
customers. The study will contribute to the SAPS
management and service marketing literature by
conceptualizing a formative service quality construct, while
also proposing a valid and reliable scale for assessing
service quality. This will help overcome the areas of

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weakness within the SAPS. The excellent service model VIII. RESEARCH POPULATION, SAMPLE SIZE AND
proposed following the findings of this research can be used PROCEDURE
to measure the quality and effectiveness of the service
provided by the SAPS. It may be that the service quality is Babbie (2013:115) states that the ‘target population’
high, but that the effectiveness is low, or vice-versa. refers to all possible participants who can provide
information on the subject under investigation. The target
In topical literature relating to the evaluation of service population for this study consists of SAPS senior managers
quality, two divergent connections emerge. The first is the and cluster commanders in the Northern Cape Province of
link between service quality as a stand-alone function and its South Africa.Seven open-ended questions were put to the
customers or consumers, and the other is the link between target population, with a view to soliciting responses about
front-line staff and supporting staff. Although Seth and the topic of this study. This group was deliberately selected,
Deshmukh (2005:946) stress the correlation between as the researcher was specifically attempting to acquire
delivery of services, business performance and the service well-informed and high-quality responses to the questioning
quality delivered to the customer, in this research only the (Wengraf,2001).Mack, Woodsong, MacQueen, Guest,
service quality (as perceived by/reported on by a tranche of Namey and Mack (2005) emphasize that open-ended
clients) could be evaluated. Any conclusions on the service questions could evoke responses from the participants that
quality as perceived by the customer may, however, also are meaningful and philosophically salient but quite
indicate possible strong or weak points in the relationship unanticipated by the researcher. This researcher wishes to
between the front-line staff and support staff. highlight that this purposive sampling method increased the
validity of the findings, as the data was acquired from
C. SCOPE OF THE STUDY participants with practical and reasoned awareness about the
This study is not limited to examining topic-relevant topic(Wengraf, 2001). Tongco (2007) defines purposive
secondary sources that have already been published, but sampling(also known as judgment sampling) as a deliberate
questions were also posed to 12 voluntary participants and choice of an informant, due to the qualities the informant
the two sources of information were used together to. possesses. During analysis, purposive sampling relies on the
develop an integrated service excellence model which can experience and judgment of the researcher to select the units
be used as a framework, or measuring instrument, to (for example, people, cases/organizations, events, pieces of
establish the perceptions that communities in the Northern data) that are to be included in and appraised by the study.
Cape hold with regard to the services the SAPS provides to
them. Compared to probability sampling techniques the
sample being investigated via purposive sampling is quite
VII. METHODOLOGY small, this researcher’s sample was twelve (12) participants.
This study relied on a non-probability purposive sampling
This study used qualitative research procedures which technique to select 12 (n = 12) participants and the sample
consists of a set of interpretative, material tests that make size was restricted to 12 participants owing to data
the thought-world visible and therefore measurable. saturation (Hennink & Kaiser, 2017:3). Saturation may
Qualitative research includes field notes, conversations, happen in qualitative interviews when subsequent
recorded interviews, photographs and memos, amongst participants begin to repeat answers indistinguishable from
others. It involves an interpretative, representational those alreadycaptured. Boddy (2016:426) indicated that
approach to ordering the world. This means that qualitative samples as low as 12 would be good to avoid data saturation
researchers study things in their natural settings, “attempting among a relatively homogeneous population (for example
to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the the population of policing executives).
meanings people bring to them” (Denzin & Lincoln, 2013).
A. DATA COLLECTION
The researcher attempted to unpack the views of the An interview technique which explored contributor’s
participantswith relation to service excellence and then to thoughts was utilised to collect data from the study
construct an integrated protocol to be used to improve participants. Each interview which lasted for an average of
service quality in the South African Police Service as a 40 minutes was audio recorded (with the participant’s
whole and in the Northern Cape province in particular. consent), and.The semi-structured interview questions
Primary sources comprised the transcripts of the interviews included: “How can you improve service delivery to
with all 12 participants. Secondary sources included customers?”; “What does ‘customer service excellence’
literature reviews, journal articles, newspapers, annual mean to you?”; “What is excellent customer service?”;“How
reports and legislation relevant to the research topic. do you provide excellent customer service?” and “How do
Interviews were conducted with senior management and you and your team identify and deliver the standards
cluster commanders in the Northern Cape Province. This required by your customers?”
sample group has been purposefully chosen because of their
understanding of the issues under investigation. B. DATA ANALYSIS
Once data collection was complete, textual analysis
(McKee, 2003) was used to understand the ways in which
members of various cultures and subcultures within the
SANDF make sense of who they are, and how they fit into
the world (and organization) in which they live. The

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responses are analyzed by thematic analysis and coding of MP4 answered:“…strengthen police officers skills:
the verbatim transcripts. Coding involves identifying the teams must have the right skills, which include listening and
themes that resonate/repeat in the answers. Thereafter, a making notes as the body language plays a vital role, first
thorough analysis of every interview transcript was impressions last. Clear communication: address the
conducted to collate thematic data in accordance with the customer in a clear understandable voice, appropriate
pre-identified themes. language and allow questions from the customer to avoid
misunderstanding. Knowledge: the SAPS provides training
C. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS throughout SAPS training academy’s and decentralised
This study complied with research ethics regarding training centres in provinces. The centres provide all kind of
sensitive issues such as anonymity, confidentiality, and training to enhance police officers skills [sic]”.
transparency of stakeholders. Importantly, the researcher
first sought the authority to gather this data from the three In summary SMP6, responded as follows:“…service
key institutions of law enforcement within the SAPS, which delivery to customers can be improved through customer
was duly granted. The researcher also received clearance feedback: to provide excellent customer services to the
from the Ethics Sub-Committee of the Faculty of Arts, public, we as the SAPS need to understand our customer’s
Nelson Mandela University. All the participants were needs, their experiences and their pain. We must provide
informed of the reason for the study and their prerogative to them with multiple channels for their feedback like physical
withdraw from the study at any time was emphasized; all surveys on feedback cards in the community service centres,
participants willingly signed the voluntary undertaking to telephonic feedback through surveys as well as via emails.
participate in the study. Strengthen the team that are responsible for customer
service: SAPS to build a strong customer service team.
IX. FINDINGS Handle customers with patience and empathy: Our
customers are from different facets of life and backgrounds.
This study makes every effort to achieve the objectives Some may be in physical or emotional pain, some annoyed,
set out above. This is all in an effort to address and answer angry or confused [sic]”.
the problem statement. The researcher was able to achieve
the aims of the study. Objective two: Identify and describe management tools
and approaches that can be used to improve the caliber of
Objective one: Determine the challenges and explore service excellence. “How do you and your team identify and
the solutions that need to be addressed in order to obtain deliver the standards required by your customers?”
service excellence in the SAPS. The first research question:
How can you improve service delivery to customers? According to SMP12:“…customer service standards
refer to the interactions between a business and customer,
Findings from this study assert that for service delivery and the resulting customer expectations. Response time,
to be efficient and effective the management at all levels of empathy, resolution, and efficiency can go a long way
the SAPS should be consistent. The Constitution provides towards building deeper customer relationships [sic]”.
the framework for service delivery in governmental
agencies, and the SAPS in line with this scheme, therefore, SMP10 responded as follows: “…reliability:the
must be dedicated to outstanding service delivery. service needs to reliably function as advertised every time
the customer wants to use it. Performance:the service needs
SMP1 had high expectations of policing and responded to perform correctly so the customer can achieve their
as follows:“…SAPS must take time to train frontline staff: goals. Efficiency:the service needs to be efficient for the
The heart of your customer operation should rest with the customer by streamlining an otherwise time-consuming
frontline staff. SAPS to take the responsibility and not the process [sic]”.
credit: Go the extra mile: going the extra mile can change
stressful (or ordinary) experiences into positive and well- SMP8 responded: “…by being compatible:the service
remembered ones; highlight the organisations ability to not needs to be compatible with what customer is already using
only empathise with its customers but also enact real change or receiving. Empathy:when your customers get in touch
that positively affects them as well. Take advantage of with customer service, they want empathy and
negative feedback: addressing a complaint or bad understanding from the people assisting them.
experience shows customers that their voices are being Fairness:customers need to be treated fairly at all times by
heard and that each individual is a valued customer [sic]”. the services you provide [sic]”.
SMP3 responded as follows to the question:“…SAPS SMP8 remarked: “… functionality: customers need our
can improve customer service delivery by responding service to function 100 % so that their need can be satisfied
speedily to customer complaints: by listening to the by providing a good standard of service. Our service must
customer and responding in a way that the customer can be a convenient solution for their need, whatever it may be.
understand. Know your customers: when a customer comes Experience: the experience that each customer has after
for service, your personnel must provide good service using your service must be of such a manner that everything
according to the customer’s need. Go the extra mile: give is clear and easy to go forward and not creating more work
the customer good service, in terms of keeping yourself and or confusion to your customers [sic]”.
the customer happy [sic]”.

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The questions on the participants’ views regarding SMP6 confirmed: “…yes, all members do receive
delivering the standards required by clients, demonstrated an formal training. The SAPS has formal training centres for
understanding of customer needs and problems encountered each cluster in the Northern Cape to take formal training
by customers. down to station level. At Galeshewe there’s “Witdam police
training centre” for the Frances Baard cluster, which is
Objective three: Solving problems encountered by also the biggest centre in the province. SAPS members must
customers. “Can you describe a time when you’ve been indicate on their pep documents what training is needed to
proactive in finding a solution to a problem encountered by comply with their job descriptions. The commanders as the
your customers?” employer representatives confirm that the need analysis is
correct and does reflect on the training plan for his specific
SMP7 stated that: “…assembling the right team– I component. From here the members get nominated to attend
believe that customer service starts on the inside and works the course the empower him/her. Nominated members get
its way toward the customer. This starts with hiring the right called up and attend courses locally as well as
people for the job, followed by training. Train people to not nationally[sic]”.
just deal with the problem when a customer calls, but to also
be proactive and help customers with problems they don’t X. RECOMMENDATIONS
yet know they might face [sic]”.
Following the findings from this investigation the
SMP9responded: “…proactive customer service is an researcher recommends the implementation of a non-
approach of the SAPS to support the customer with his discriminatory service excellence protocol, in order to
needs and to make the first move from the side of the police. improve service quality worth in the SAPSand to
If a customer approaches me and cannot speak English or continuously improve the delivery of service excellence in
Afrikaans, it is my duty as a member of the SAPS, to the Northern Cape in particular.The participants in this
immediately get a person who can translate the need of the research project expressed their views by identifying gaps in
customer, or who can help the customer in the language of the quality of services provided by the SAPS to the many
his choice [sic]”. communities in the Northern Cape. The evolution of a
service excellence protocolto assess the services provided by
SMP3 answered: “…as a police officer, my primary the SAPS is justified, because this is an indispensable
responsibility is to prevent and investigate crime. With each method of improving the services rendered to all clients,
customer, I analyze their case to determine if we can which will be beneficial to both the SAPS and to the
immediately see, alternatively, solution to their problem. I communities it serves. The researcher believes
then develop a plan and, if warranted, perform follow-up implementation of this model will have positive effects and
calls to check on the process of the case [sic]”. will make the task of policing easier and cheaper.

Questions were asked relating to the SAPS The Front-line Service Delivery programme, in support
implementation of strategies to improve service delivery and of the SDIP, implemented a structured model to address
also about whether these strategies have an effect on service each police station’s service point. This was supported by
delivery enhancement. The response from the majority of the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in
participants indicates that they are not satisfied with the order to visibly detect, recordand evaluate services and to
quality of service provided by the SAPS to the communities. ensure that corrective actions were taken where the results
were found to be poor (SA 2015a, 2015-2016:11). Further
Objective four: Develop a non-discriminatory service research has been conducted by the South African
excellence protocol to be used to improve the delivery of Management Development Institute and their study found
service quality in the South African Police Service (SAPS) that “service delivery in the public service is made up of
to achieve (and continuously improve) service excellence systems that are arranged for the satisfactory fulfillment of
through in the assistance provided. “Do the SAPS members various demands by undertaking purposeful activities with
receive regular training on how to maintain service optimum use of resources in order to develop effective,
excellence knowledge and professional competency?” efficient and economic services resulting in measurable and
acceptable benefits to customers”(2003:5).
SMP1 stated that: “…yes, asa senior official in SAPS, I
can state that all members in SAPS have received training in
client management [sic]”.

SMP11 responded that:“…yes, all members in SAPS

including me have received training on customer service
and client service including community service centre
management [sic]”.

SMP5, stated that:“…yes, all SAPS members receive

training on service delivery as part of the learning programs
presented through the training academies and decentralised
human resource development centres [sic]”.

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Volume 7, Issue 3, March – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
XI. CONCLUSION comparison. Managing Service Quality Vol. 22 No. 5,
pp. 447-464.
The discussion in this article centres around themes [13.] Gqada, I.2004. The South African Police Service
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collected on how the customer operations can be improved. saturation versus meaning saturation: How many
The researcher analysed and interpreted the data and interviews are enough? Qualitative Health Research,
graphically presented his findings. These findings will be 27, 591–608. doi:10.1177/1049732316665344.
utilised, together with the thematic analysis of the [15.] Johnston, R., Clark, G. & Shulver, M. 2012. Service
qualitative data, to provide recommendations in the Operations Management – improving service delivery.
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SAPS to address public trust in the police service. [16.] Kingstone, A. Tipper, C. Ristic, J. & Ngan, E. 2004.
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