PROJECT: WHEN THE PROTECTOR BECOMES THE SOURCE OF FEAR
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THE COST OF LOST TRUST IN THE POLICE
For a woman or child who is being threatened, abused, stalked, sexually assaulted or otherwise placed in danger, the police are supposed to represent one of the most important avenues of protection.
But what happens to that trust when senior police officers themselves become the subjects
of serious criminal allegations involving women or children?
That question is bigger than any individual case.
It goes to the heart of public confidence in policing.
Recent allegations against suspended Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya have placed this issue under renewed scrutiny. Lieutenant-General Sibiya, a senior SAPS officer who was responsible for crime detection, was arrested in September 2026
and faces charges reported to include rape, trafficking in persons and alleged sexual grooming involving a 16-year-old girl.
These remain allegations that must be determined through the criminal justice process.
The significance of such a case, however, does not depend on a conviction
before the public is entitled to ask difficult questions.
THE TRUST PROBLEM:
A woman reporting rape does not merely report a crime.
She places herself in the hands of an institution that she expects to:
believe her complaint will be taken seriously;
record the matter correctly;
protect her from further harm;
investigate objectively;
preserve evidence;
identify and arrest suspects where sufficient grounds exist;
protect children and vulnerable witnesses;
and ensure that the investigation proceeds without interference.
SAPS itself recognises the seriousness of sexual offences. Its public guidance states that sexual offences can severely violate a victim's bodily and psychological integrity, privacy and dignity, and sets out procedures for reporting, investigation, medical examination and victim support.
That creates an unavoidable institutional expectation.
The people enforcing laws against sexual violence must themselves be subject to the same laws.
Rank cannot change that principle.
WHEN RANK COLLIDES WITH ACCOUNTABILITY:
A police officer accused of a serious offence is entitled to due process.
At the same time, the fact that an accused person holds senior rank creates an additional institutional concern.
A senior officer does not operate in an ordinary position of authority. Police rank provides access, influence, knowledge of investigative processes and, in some circumstances, access to vulnerable people.
That is why allegations involving senior officers cannot be treated simply as private misconduct.
They raise questions about:
oversight, accountability, internal reporting, conflicts of interest, investigative independence and public confidence.
If a woman believes that the person she approaches for protection may himself abuse his position, the consequences can extend far beyond one criminal case.
She may decide not to report.
She may tell nobody.
She may withdraw a complaint.
She may believe that reporting will expose her to further humiliation, retaliation or disbelief.
And when that happens, a criminal offence can disappear from the official statistics without the underlying violence disappearing from society.
WOMEN CANNOT BE EXPECTED TO TRUST BLINDLY:
Trust in policing should never mean blind trust.
It should be based on observable accountability.
A woman should be able to approach SAPS knowing that a complaint against a police officer can be reported and investigated independently of the officer's rank.
A child should have access to specialised protection when reporting sexual abuse.
A complainant should know who is investigating her case, receive a case number and have access to information about the progress of the investigation.
These are not unreasonable expectations.
They are reflected in SAPS's own procedures for sexual-offence complaints. SAPS states that victims may have a support person present during an interview, that a docket must be opened and registered, and that appropriate medical assistance and evidence collection must be arranged.
THE DANGER OF SILENCE:
The greatest institutional danger is not only that a police officer may allegedly commit an offence.
It is what happens if other people become afraid to report it.
SAPS has previously acknowledged that a lack of trust and confidence in the police can contribute to cases going unreported.
This is particularly important in sexual offences.
Victims already face fear, shame, trauma, intimidation and uncertainty.
If the accused is a person wearing a police uniform, the psychological barrier to reporting may become even greater.
If the accused is a senior officer, that barrier can become greater still.
The victim may reasonably ask: Who will investigate the investigator?
ONE CASE MUST NOT DEFINE EVERY POLICE OFFICER:
There is another important side to this discussion.
The actions or allegations concerning individual police officers should not automatically be attributed to every member of SAPS.
Thousands of police officials perform difficult and dangerous duties every day. SAPS's own published records also document detectives who have secured lengthy sentences against perpetrators of rape and crimes against children. In Gauteng, for example, SAPS reported that its Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences detectives secured 21 life sentences and an additional 1,420 years of imprisonment for 40 accused persons during May and June 2025.
That distinction matters.
The issue is not whether every police officer can be trusted.
The issue is whether the institution has sufficiently strong safeguards to identify, investigate and remove misconduct when it occurs — regardless of rank.
ACCOUNTABILITY MUST BE STRONGER THAN RANK:
SAPS cannot ask women and children to trust the police while appearing unable to demonstrate that police officers who abuse their authority will face meaningful accountability.
Institutional trust is built through action.
It requires:
independent investigation of serious allegations against police officials;
effective internal disciplinary systems;
protection for complainants and witnesses;
clear reporting channels outside the immediate chain of command where necessary;
transparent consequences when misconduct is established;
protection of children from officers who abuse positions of authority;
and visible enforcement of the law without regard to rank.
The principle should be straightforward: A police uniform does not provide immunity from the law.
WHAT WOMEN AND CHILDREN NEED TO KNOW:
Women and children should not be discouraged from reporting crime because of allegations involving police officials.
If a sexual offence has occurred, it should be reported.
If the alleged perpetrator is a police officer, that fact should be clearly disclosed when the complaint is made.
If a complainant believes that the handling of the matter is compromised, she should seek assistance from another appropriate law-enforcement or justice channel and retain all relevant information, including case numbers, names, dates and communications.
SAPS itself states that sexual offences may be reported at a police station or by telephone and that a victim may be accompanied by a person of her choice during the interview.
Children require additional protection and specialised handling. SAPS states that where a child is the victim of a sexual offence, a member trained by the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit or another specialised person should be involved.
THE REAL MEASURE OF A POLICE SERVICE:
The measure of a police service is not whether misconduct never occurs.
No large institution can guarantee that.
The measure is what happens when misconduct is suspected or reported.
Does the system protect the complainant?
Does it protect evidence?
Does it prevent interference?
Does rank influence the investigation?
Are victims treated with dignity?
Are allegations investigated objectively?
And when wrongdoing is established, does the institution act?
These questions matter because policing depends fundamentally on public cooperation.
A woman who believes that reporting a crime will expose her to another threat may remain silent.
A child who believes that an authority figure cannot be challenged may remain silent.
A community that believes senior officials operate according to different rules may stop cooperating.
That is how institutional trust is lost.
Serious allegations against senior police officials should never be used to condemn every police officer.
But neither should rank, reputation or institutional loyalty be allowed to minimise the significance of such allegations.
For women and children, trust in law enforcement is not an abstract concept.
It can determine whether a victim reports an offence, whether evidence is preserved, whether a perpetrator
is identified and whether another victim is protected.
The responsibility therefore extends beyond the individual officer.
The public must be able to believe that the people appointed to protect them are themselves accountable to the law.
Where that confidence is damaged, rebuilding it requires more than statements.
It requires transparent procedures, independent investigation, protection of victims and witnesses, and demonstrable accountability — from the lowest rank to the highest.
The uniform must represent protection. The rank must represent responsibility.
And the law must apply equally to the person wearing the uniform.
For victims or families who believe that a criminal investigation requires additional independent scrutiny,
Mr. Mike Bolhuis and the SSS Specialist Investigators can assist with evidence-based investigative processes,
subject to the circumstances of the matter.
SSS is not a substitute for SAPS or the prosecuting authority, but independent specialist investigation
can assist in identifying relevant evidence, establishing timelines and examining information that may require further attention.
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