Maroc - dailynews.co.za - News - 17/Jul 09:33

‘Expansion is crucial’: Police Minister Senzo Mchunu set to recruit 10,000 additional cops to combat crime

Newly appointed Police Minister Senzo Mchunu says the South African Police Service (SAPS) is set to recruit an additional 10,000 members aimed at bolstering the country’s law enforcement capabilities such as combating crime.Mchunu made this announcement on Tuesday, July 17, during the National Assembly's Police department budget vote. The SAPS Budget for the 2024/ 25 financial year is R113.597 billion; while the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service has been allocated a budget of R155.964 million and IPID allocated R370.557 million.Mchunu said the department is committed to expanding its workforce, enhancing police visibility, improving community responsiveness, detection rate, crime intelligence capability, and to building public confidence in the police service.“This strategic expansion is crucial for addressing the growing demands of our communities and ensuring that we can effectively combat crime across the country. During the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 budget periods, additional funding allowed us to enlist 10,000 employees, respectively.“For the 2024/2025 financial year, this additional funding will enable us to appoint another 10,000 police trainees, covering personnel losses through natural attrition and facilitating workforce growth,” Mchunu said.In order to protect law enforcement officers while they are performing their duties and maintain their operational efficacy, the minister emphasised the significance of improving safety procedures and measures.By implementing comprehensive training programmes, providing advanced protective equipment, and establishing clear operational guidelines, Mchunu said the police service can significantly reduce risks faced by officers during their duties.Mchunu says that an increased focus on mental health support and regular safety assessments will contribute to a safer working environment.The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), said Mchunu, is headed towards ensuring it is adequately staffed to carry out its mandate.“The department continues to analyse its organisational structure, which resulted in the extensive review of the current functions; re-prioritising and re-grouping of the functions in respective units to ensure the optimal utilisation of the limited resources. Ipid has a number of recruitment processes under way in respect of various positions,” he said.Moreover, Mchunu says the budgets of the departments in the portfolio need to reflect a proper alignment between policing needs and priorities, personnel deployment, upskilling of critical personnel and operations.“Strengthening specialised crime detection capabilities is essential for effectively addressing cybercrime, organised crime, commercial crime, and corruption. Enhanced training, advanced investigative tools, and dedicated task forces will empower the SAPS to tackle these complex and high-impact criminal activities more efficiently.“By capacitating specialised units, the SAPS can ensure targeted, expert responses to specific crime types, leading to higher detection rates and successful prosecutions. This approach will not only disrupt criminal networks, but also restore public confidence in law enforcement,” Mchunu said.In addition, Mchunu says one of their top priorities is to reduce violent crime, gender-based violence and femicide.‘’We will place a strong emphasis on community mobilisation to increase police visibility through strategic partnership,’’ he said. Mchunu said in order to achieve these objectives, they have adopted a rule of government and whole of society framework which is guided by the government crime and prevention strategy.What’s more, Mchunu said to protect the country’s economy from criminal activities, the economic infrastructure task teams, supported by organised crime investigation capabilities, will focus on combating crimes such as illegal mining, infrastructure-related crimes and extortion in all business sectors, particularly the construction sector.Specialised capabilities, including the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, forensic services, and crime intelligence, will collaborate with both internal and external stakeholders to address these issues effectively.“Efforts to tackle organised crime, money laundering, and terror financing will continue in line with recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force. There is an urgent need for a more strategic and consolidated response to organised crime which imposes a real existential threat to our economy and democracy.“These initiatives will be implemented through the Detective Services Programme and the Crime Intelligence Programme, with respective budgets of R71.3 billion and R15.1 billion over the medium term,” he said.Mchunu emphasised the significance of stepping up efforts to neutralise and eradicate gangs and other criminal organisations implicated in drug-related offences, as well as to restore law and order to the impacted areas.Mchunu noted that targeting the criminal networks will disrupt the supply chains and operations that fuel violence and instability.“Enhanced intelligence-gathering, dedicated task forces, and collaborative operations with other law enforcement agencies will strengthen the SAPS's ability to combat organised crime effectively. By prioritising these efforts, the SAPS can significantly reduce drug-related incidents and protect vulnerable populations,” Mchunu said.IOL