Die houding teenoor die rekenaar as veranderingskomponent binne die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisie

Abstract

The South African Police, as an organization that renders a service to the public, started to use computers on an ever increasing scale in the combat and prevention of crime. This has had far-reaching consequences on the traditional manner of policing. The implementation of computers holds more than just financial and structural changes. The extensiveness and complexity of this change only becomes apparent when human aspects are taken into consideration. The success of the whole process depends primarily on the perception and attitude of those confronted by this new technology, irrespective of how advanced the computer systems and software are. The aim of this study is to scientifically analyze attitudes towards computers in the South African Police. A provisional questionnaire was constructed in this regard. It was evaluated by a group of adjudicators and subdued to a pilot study. After ensuring that the final questionnaire satisfied the conditions of validity and reliability, it was sent out to 2 500 members of the Service chosen from a random sample. Responses were received from 978 members. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. These results showed a significant difference in the attitude towards computers between: • members staying in towns and cities; • white members on the one hand and black, coloured and Asian members on the other hand; • non-commissioned officers and junior officers; • male and female members; • Afrikaans and English speaking members; and • members with and members without computer experience.