'The Dirty Work of Democracy', by Antony Altbeker examines the real-life issues faced by police in post-apartheid South Africa, in an 'deeply empathetic' and insightful way, Gauteng MEC for Safety and Security Firoz Cachalia said at the launch yesterday of the publication.

As research for the book, Altbeker spent over a year on the ground with local policemen, in a number of differenct settings, including upper-class urban, gang-ruled suburbs and poor rural areas.

"Nasty as law-enforcement can be, the fact is that ordinary people ned to be protected from violence," he explained.

However, he said that he entered the project, "looking for the human factor".

"In these areas, crime and criminals are very different, which means that policing is very different."

Issues dealt with in the book include feelings of futility, lack of resources and the changes in the police force after the 1994 elections, faced by the average policeman, Altbeker said.

However, despite the numerous challenges facing local law enforcement, Altbeker finds that the South African police service compares well with any other in the developing world.

"At the end of the day, South Africa has a backbone of professionalism compared with countries like China, India and Brazil," Altbeker concluded.