This study investigates the impact of leadership styles on staff morale within the South African Police Service (SAPS), focusing specifically on client service centres in Johannesburg district police stations between 2020 and 2025. Leadership in policing is central to shaping organisational culture, staff well-being, and ultimately the quality of public service delivery. Given that client service centres serve as the frontline interface between the police and the community, understanding how leadership influences morale is crucial for improving trust, accountability, and operational effectiveness. Despite ongoing police reforms, SAPS continues to face challenges linked to leadership deficiencies, staff demotivation, and declining public confidence. Frontline units, such as client service centres, are especially vulnerable to these dynamics due to heavy workloads, emotional labour, and direct community scrutiny. The COVID-19 pandemic, resource shortages, and increasing crime levels between 2020 and 2025 have further intensified these pressures. However, limited research has examined how different leadership styles, transformational, transactional, autocratic, and democratic, affect morale in this unique SAPS context. This research adopted a systematic mixed-methods approach. Quantitative data were gathered using validated leadership assessment tools such as the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and staff morale surveys administered among police personnel working in Johannesburg district client service centres. Qualitative insights were collected through semi-structured interviews and focus groups with both frontline officers and supervisors. Data was analysed thematically and statistically to identify correlations between leadership styles and morale outcomes. The study aims to extend scholarship on police leadership in South Africa by bridging the gap between leadership theory and frontline policing practice. It highlights the role of leadership in sustaining staff morale during periods of crisis and reform, providing practical recommendations for enhancing leadership training, staff support systems, and service quality in client service centres. It is expected that transformational and democratic leadership styles are positively associated with higher morale, lower absenteeism, and improved service delivery, while transactional and autocratic styles may correlate with burnout, stress, and reduced job satisfaction. The findings also capture how contextual factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and institutional reform efforts moderated these dynamics. The research concludes that leadership in policing is not only a managerial function but also a critical determinant of staff morale and organisational legitimacy. By identifying effective leadership strategies for SAPS client service centres, this study will contribute to strengthening police-community relations and enhancing service delivery within the Johannesburg district and beyond.
Author(s) Details
John Motsamai Modise
Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa.
Please see the book here :- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/mono/978-93-88417-39-6/CH7
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