ESTABLISHMENT OF PAARL AS A SAPS UNIVERSITY

1. ESTABLISHMENT OF PAARL AS A SAPS UNIVERSITY 14 August 2013

2. 2 BACKGROUND • The South African Police Service (SAPS), Division: HRD has since 2011 been working on a plan to develop Paarl to University Level. In a forum of Division: HRD and the Tertiary Institutions in South Africa, it became clear that there was a need for the Police to establish a University that would cater for the development of officials. It became clear that sending SAPS members to Universities was becoming very expensive, whereas presenting such courses in the SAPS facilities would be more cost effective. Furthermore, what SAPS had indentified is the tendency of Universities to present what they think has needs instead of addressing the real SAPS needs. • Furthermore, the SAPS indentified the need for talent management and capacity building by way of growing future leadership for the SAPS in order to address issues of succession planning. Most importantly, this notion was also to ensure preservation of the SAPS culture and identity which currently appears to be eroding. • Lastly, the National Development Plan of the Government: vision 2030 together with the 10 Point Plan of the Minister of Police– emphasizes the need for the professionalization of the South African Police Service.

3. 3 BACKGROUND • All of the above have led to the establishment of the University being conceived by SAPS. Teams were sent to Saldanha, Military Academy to study what the Military has done with the University of Stellenbosch over the years. Some members also had the opportunity of visiting the Public Security University in China and saw how it works. The Turkish International Academy- through desktop analysis as well as correspondence between them and HRD have also shed some light in terms of how such Police Universities are started. • Recently, HRD visited Khartoum in Sudan where a similar arrangement has been observed. Police organizations, the world over identified the need to establish their own Universities in order to ensure that their employees are provided with the right skills they need.

4. 4 BACKGROUND • The model of the University is that it will have an Academic as well as a professional leg. The Academic side would be focusing on the University offerings whilst the professional leg would focus specifically on the Police issues so as to preserve the culture as it is done in the military academy. • The University of Paarl will start in the same vein as how all other public universities are established, i.e as satellites of an existing university. Due to the stringent accreditation requirements required by the Council on Higher Education (CHE), newly established universities start under the auspicies of a long established one such as Unisa to give quality assurance of the learning as well as certification of learners in a credible manner. UCT, Rhodes, Fort Hare, Potch to name a few, all started in the same manner, so will Paarl.

5. 5 CURRENT SITUATION • In line with the National Development Plan – Vision 2030, and the 10 point plan of the Minister of Police, the SAPS has adopted the route of elevating its Paarl Academy to university level. This academy has been endorsed by the University of South Africa (Unisa) as it meets specific requirements for a higher-learning institution. • Why university level? • The importance of university education overall – Without exception it is internationally-accepted in principle that university education is important for police. The SAPS is currently benchmarking against acclaimed institutions to attain standards based on international academic levels.  • Police professionalism – Because of the changing societal needs and the world that we live in it is important that our police members undergo stringent selection, be subjected to vigorous and professional police-related training and be given appropriate educational support. In order that police members meet the goals of policing both in technical and ethical terms, they must be subjected to higher educational levels. Exposing police members to higher education highlights the idea of situational understanding, actions and thoughts and assumptions within professional practice as situations happen or after they have taken place.

6. JUSTIFICATION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION 6 • According to the view of experts, the professional standing of police is based on a number of factors: • Officers must be able to diagnose problems in confusing and variable situations • Based on that diagnosis, officers must make timely, discretionary decisions in accordance with the law and Constitution of the country. • Officers’ responsibilities and authority are brought and must be performed under minimal direct supervision. • Officers must be highly adaptable to handle heated emotions and interpersonal sensitivity in close proximities. • Officers must be able to make critical decisions in circumstances of deep stress. • Officers must be able to apply the law fairly and equitably, as do other criminal justice professionals. • Police education and training has always been insular and institutionalised, i.e. internal police training. It is becoming imperative that police members are exposed to a wider world-view and higher-level education.

7. SUMMARY 7 • To achieve an appropriate level of professionalism, police members would need higher education. Paarl Academy has an extensive and detailed information, history, in-house expertise that cannot be surpassed by any of its other training academies. But for it to meet the current and the future police requirements it needs the injection of additional academic professional partnership. • Of significance are the following goals for adopting this university-level academy: • To create capacity that will provide professional service. • To equip police members to deal with complex international crime. • To empower police members by developing their specialised knowledge and helping them to acquire specific technical know-how as well as academic expertise. • To bring about total commitment of the members to the Service. • To maintain internal professional standards that govern police culture, policy and decisions.

8. SUMMARY 8 • To attract high-calibre recruits/ students. • To enhance the public image of policing. • To position the SAPS as an employer of choice. • In this Journey to a University, the SAPS will partner with a Public University of renowned standing which also has a wide footprint in South Africa, Africa and beyond. Supply Chain processes are being finalized for a preferred university. • The signing of the MOU with the University is envisaged to take place on 06 September 2013 in Paarl. On the same day, the Minister will be requested to unveil the new plague in Paarl replacing the old one that still bears the name of Mr Vlok. In January 2014, the University will be officially opened for the first 120 students to receive their tuition in the pride of the SAPS- “Out of these doors will come out men and women who will serve this country with pride, dignity and professionalism ” – that is Paarl University”.

9. FUNDING 9 • A task team was established by SAPS consisting of members from the following Divisions: • HRD • SCM • Personnel Management • Finance and Administration • HRU • The task team had to look into the funding models that could be used to support the programme. The following proposal was ultimately adopted as the one to be used as it proved to work when a similar initiative was once started in Graaff-Reinet: • that learners who are full time in the programme would continue receiving their salaries and hence pay for their tuition. • that Paarl would provide accommodation and meals for those students. • that after completion, the students would go back to their places of work. • The programme would start with the first 120 learners as full time but later on would provide programmes on a distance learning mode. It needs to be emphasized that SAPS understands progressive development that it will have to follow until it is able to offer education and training at higher levels. Therefore some police officials will still study for their self development through other Universities. 

10. THANK YOU 10 Compiled by Lt Gen CN Mbekela