The first batch of the 10000 police recruits will report for training on 22 April.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the recruitment and selection process for the 2024/2025 financial year was finalised.

“The first batch of 4500 trainees will report for training at the various South African Police Service (SAPS) academies on 22 April.”

“The second batch of 5500 recruits will commence with training in January 2025; this process is yet to be finalised.  Applicants are henceforth requested to be patient and await communique from the SAPS.”

For the 2024/2025 recruitment, the SAPS received more than one million applications.

Brigadier Athlenda Mathe

Mathe said the recruitment and selection of suitable candidates who conform to all the basic requirements was of “paramount importance to the continued success of the work and mandate of the SAPS.”

“Final selection is based on merit and the process is free from bias, nepotism, and discrimination. Upon completing the Basic Police Development Learning Programme (BPDLP), the newly trained Constables will reinforce policing capacity at high-crime stations, detective units and specialised units, such as Public Order Policing  (POPs).”

Three years ago, President Cyril Ramaphosa called for enhanced police personnel capacity to combat crime.

“This prompted the SAPS to undertake a vigorous national recruitment and selection process known as Project 10000. The SAPS has in the last two years trained and deployed 20 000 police officers to stations and units to bolster policing and efforts to prevent and combat crime,” Mathe said.

The SAPS 2024/25 Annual Performance Plan, tabled three weeks ago, revealed that the force cannot keep up with the country’s growing population

For every 427 South Africans, there is just one police officer.

As the population increased from an estimated 54 million in 2014, to 62 million in 2022, so the actual workforce that was deployed at the frontline to prevent, investigate and combat crime, uphold and enforce the law and protect and secure the people of the country and their property, declined from 152977, in 2014/15, to 140 048, in 2021/22,” the report said.

Government allocated additional funding to the tune of R8.7 billion during 2022/23 to “extend and rejuvenate SAPS’ staff establishment through the recruitment of 12000 additional personnel members.”

“Total expenditure is expected to increase at an average annual rate of 5.8 percent, from R105.5 billion in 2023/24 to R124.8 billion in 2026/27, mainly to provide for the carry-through costs of the 2023/24 public sector wage agreement, the department is set to receive additional allocations amounting to R22 billion over the next three years.”

“The number of personnel is set to increase from 183708 in 2023/24 to 186538 in 2026/27. This will be done by appointing a targeted 10 000 police trainees in 2024/25 and absorbing them as constables upon their successful completion of training against which the natural attrition of employees should be discounted,” the report said.