Why relying on the military for policing poses risks

WHEN President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the deployment of the South African National Defence Force to the provinces of Gauteng and the Western Cape in his 2026 State of the Nation Address, he was met with desperate applause by a crime-weary nation.

- LINDY HEINECKEN

IF THE state continues to use the military internally, it must abandon the current "one-size-fits-all" combat model, says the writer.

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This is largely due to police failure in almost every aspect of their duties in protecting citizens from crime and violence. Hence the call to bring in the army.But research in the field of armed forces and society suggests this “show of force” creates a dangerous moral hazard. If the army is always available to “stablise” a hot spot, there's no pressure on the SAPS to root out corruption, improve intelligence-gathering and rebuild community trust.

All three are weak spots in the country’s police service, affecting their ability to deal with criminal and violent crime.

Gang violence - one of the areas the defence force has been called on to control - is the byproduct of systemic neglect such as unemployment, lack of infrastructure and poor education. As long as the structural violence (lack of jobs and infrastructure) and cultural violence (the need for gang identity) remain, the military can only provide a temporary “lid” on the violence. But constantly relying on the military when core governance and policing institutions fail places the country on a dangerous, remilitarised path where military solutions begin to dominate civilian life.

An extensive international comparative study which drew in experts from 26 different countries shows that domestic military use raises concerns about democratic backsliding and extrajudicial abuse of coercive power. It shows most countries avoid using the military internally for coercive law enforcement roles due to these concerns.

South Africans voice the same concerns, yet the SANDF has increasingly found itself deployed to “safeguard the nation’, which includes combating gang violence.