CAPE TOWN - Police officers are more concerned with politics than policing.
This is according to the 'Function of the Police' report by think-tank the New South Institute.
It was released in Parliament on Thursday.
One of the authors, Ivor Chipkin, says policing has changed dramatically in the last 15 years.
"The essential argument of the report is that South Africa needs to be partisan to the citizens and what we have is a police force that is largely partisan to senior political leadership," he said.
"Police officers are largely preoccupied with the political shenanigans in the ruling party and ultimately becoming embroiled in political contestation among the political leads, that's essentially the argument."