The South African Police Service (SAPS) has announced that it has deployed over 20,000 additional constables in various units around the country during the last three years, with the goal of increasing policing efforts and improving public safety.
During a media briefing in Pretoria on Sunday, the national commissioner for the SAPS General Fannie Masemola, provided an update on SAPS Nationwide Safer Festive Season Operations, stating that 2,699 freshly trained constables entered the ranks in mid-December of last year.
"We were able to heighten police visibility and boost our crime combatting efforts at areas identified as hotspots across the country, including malls, beaches and along our country's key strategic routes," said Masemola.
During the holiday season, police arrested 244,951 individuals for a variety of offences, including murder, rape, assault, illegal firearm possession, drug selling, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and illegal entry into the country.
The SAPS safer festive season activities began on October 11, 2024, and concluded on Friday, January 31, 2025.
"In keeping with our promise to increase personnel and ensure more boots on the ground to keep our communities safe, I'm pleased to announce that this week, we will be welcoming an additional 5,500 new police trainees into our academies.
"These recruits will undergo the Basic Police Learning Development Programme and those who are in possession of a matric certificate or a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) level 5 qualification will undergo the nine-month training programme and those that are in possession of a NQF 6 qualification or higher will undergo the six-month training programme."
IOL