Challenges experienced by Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department on the execution of their crime prevention mandate

Abstract

This study was conducted in Tshwane at (TMPD). The study involved 164 members from TMPD. The respondents were categorised as supervisory level and operational level. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire had open-ended questions (bringing a qualitative element) and closed-ended questions (bringing quantitative element). This study sought to answer the following research questions:  What is the traditional role of municipal law enforcement agencies?  What are legislative provisions for establishment of Municipal Police Services?  What are factors hindering the effectiveness of metro police officers on their crime prevention mandate?  What level of training is appropriate for the metropolitan police officer to be effective in crime prevention?  Are there additional adequate resources needed in the metro police facilities to enable the officers to help police combat crime effectively? The following are some of the findings:  Traditional law enforcement agencies were found to be performing the following duties: patrolling the streets; writing traffic fines; observing accidents; controlling and monitoring road traffic flow; issuing of road traffic and by-law notices; arrest and detention of suspects; crowd control in service delivery; unrest and strike situation; attending of selling goods without license; confiscation of hawkers’ goods; preserving court evidence and investigation of serious crime.  It was found that the TMPD had reasonable resources to help them carry out their mandate. More still need to be done though.  Political influence, interventions and interference. Based on the findings, recommendations were formulated that, hopefully, will help TMPD to improve in their crime prevention mandate.