The clarification was provided by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, in response to a parliamentary question posed by Dereleen Elana James, Member of Parliament for ActionSA.

At present, the SAPS makes provision for two categories of reservists who serve on a voluntary basis. Category 1 includes functional policing reservists who support operational duties at station level. Category 2 consists of reservists with specialised skills or expertise, which may be applied either operationally or in support roles across the service. All reservists are expected to contribute a minimum of 16 hours of voluntary service each month.

In terms of outstanding payments, the SAPS reported that, as of 13 March 2025, 99.97% of all back payments owed to reservists had been finalised. These payments relate to duties performed when reservists are officially called up. A review process was launched to ensure that tariffs paid to reservists are updated annually. The responsibility for processing payments rests with each province’s Commissioner, and the SAPS has prioritised settling any remaining back payments, linked to tariff adjustments, before the end of the current financial year.

While reservists are eligible to apply for permanent positions within the SAPS, the organisation has confirmed that no specific recruitment quota or preferential allocation is currently reserved for reservists in upcoming intakes. Instead, all applicants, including reservists, must meet the same recruitment and appointment criteria and go through the standard selection processes.

The SAPS has encouraged all eligible reservists to submit applications during recruitment drives, noting that prior service and experience will be taken into account during the selection process, but will not automatically guarantee appointment.

The service maintains that reservists continue to play an important supplementary role in policing across the country and that their contributions are recognised through both policy and practice. Further communication regarding recruitment cycles and payment updates is expected to be shared through provincial offices and official SAPS platforms.

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ActionSA MP Dereleen James said in a statement that the planned workforce expansion centres on the appointment of 10,000 police trainees in the 2024/2025 financial year and while this is certainly necessary, “the Minister failed to mention any plans in his Department Budget Vote to include the thousands of already trained, experienced and committed reservists who are already diligently serving in their police stations and their communities.”

Across South Africa, James stated, police reservists, many with service numbers, have answered the call of duty to assist in the fight against crime. However, their valuable contributions have been undercut for years, leading to a decline in the number of police reservists by tens of thousands over the past decade due to the collapse of the reservist programme.

“These reservists are also severely prejudiced by having PERSAL numbers that imply that they are employees of the State which precludes them from any social assistance and housing, despite the fact that they do not get paid a salary as reservists but only receive stipends upon official call ups.

“It is now incumbent on Minister Mchunu to break from the disastrous tenure of his predecessor, which led to the collapse of the reservist programme. Thus, ActionSA will be engaging with the Minister to immediately embark on a proactive programme to resurrect and fully integrate the thousands of able and committed reservists who are ready to contribute to SAPS’s plans to increase visibility with more boots on the ground, improve community responsiveness and detection rates, and build public confidence in the police service.

“ActionSA is fully committed to supporting the increased participation of police reservists in South Africa’s fight against crime and will fight to ensure that experienced reservists are properly integrated into SAPS and are recognised and fairly compensated for the valuable contributions they make to the police service,” James concluded.

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