|
A recent study by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) indicates that members of the police and the traffic services experience stress due to their negative public image. However, it also became clear that they love and are dedicated to their work, despite the high levels of stress and trauma they might experience. The study by the HSRC's Traffic Research Unit focuses on the stress that members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) as well as the fire, ambulance and traffic services are exposed to, the support they receive in dealing with the stress and the extent to which these services co-operate with each other. A sample of 109 respondents was drawn from emergency services in Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria. Initial interviews for the study were conducted in 1995 and further input was received through feedback sessions conducted with management and respondents during 1996. This interactive participatory approach ensured clients' involvement throughout the study and has contributed to the better implementation of findings. "Although members of the different emergency services tended to experience different types of stress that were unique to their particular organisation, there seemed to be a general need for better salaries, increased manpower, better and more equipment, better communication and more consultation by management," says Ms Ren?e du Toit, senior researcher at the HSRC's Traffic Research Unit. Only a small percentage (26%) of members of the SAPS, and no members of the fire, ambulance or traffic services indicated that they received debriefing after being exposed to traumatic incidents. Three units of the SAPS, namely the Internal Stability Unit (currently known as the interim Public Order Policing Service [POPS]), the Visible Policing Unit and the Flying Squad, were included in the survey. Although some SAPS members (17%) perceived their image to have improved since the 1994 elections, some still admitted that the organization's negative image caused them stress. Although some believed that management in the SAPS has become more participatory lately, others felt that it was still autocratic. Almost half of the members of the traffic services were unsure about their public image. Thirty per cent said they experienced members of the public as positive, while an equal number experienced the public's attitude towards the traffic services as being negative. Twenty per cent felt that taxi drivers tended to team up against them. More than half the fire and ambulance service members stated that their response times were slow as a result of manpower shortages. Problems were also experienced owing to poor communication. The majority of respondents felt that a sound relationship and good co-operation existed between the different emergency services. Members complained, however, about a lack of co-ordination at accident scenes.
|
