Restructuring police organizations: The significance of global experiences for the South African police service

This paper examines the lessons that could be learnt by the South African police service from international police organizations' restructuring efforts. An argument will be made that these lessons are vital to reconsider restrictions and shortcomings experienced by the South African police service's restructuring. Firstly, this argument is based on literature indicating that countries across the globe have realized that police organizations are no longer the established hierarchical structures they previously were to endure change, and, as a result, are involved in rethinking their roles, restructuring their organizations and changing their cultures in order to adjust to the changing conditions. This review of the literature lay emphasis on the significance of restructuring in police organizations and summarize the restructuring efforts that various international police organizations have embarked upon to reformulate its organizations' structure and/or to adjust elements of the existing structures. Secondly, this argument is based on the findings of a qualitative study conducted in 2008 and 2011 with the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit of the South African police service during this unit's restructuring in 2006 and again in 2010. The aim of this paper is to identify lessons that can be learnt from these international police organizations' restructuring efforts. These lessons are vital to reconsider restrictions and shortcomings experienced by the South African police service's restructuring efforts. The findings suggest that the South African police service could draw from trends that international police organizations pursued in their restructuring endeavors and utilize these lessons as a learning curve and an opportunity to rectify shortcomings.