As the end of apartheid neared, the process of police reform was extremely important as the new South African Government was about to inherit an oppressive police force that was often seen as the enemy of democratic reform. Beginning in 1990, authorities and community members contemplated how police reform might work. During apartheid, police were seen as coercive, oppressive, and violent; an important part of police reform efforts was to establish a new image of police. Examining (1) how newspapers framed images of police in South Africa, (2) how the image of police changed over time, and (3) whether media images of police changed from one of conflict to one of consensus reflecting the political transition from apartheid to democracy, I argue that the media image of the South African police service during the transition from apartheid to democracy hindered the ability of community policing efforts to flourish.
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