Deputy Police Minister Polly Boshielo on Friday stressed government’s commitment to ensuring more boots on the ground, the capacitation of police stations and increased visibility at all South African Police Service (Saps) service points across the country, as it welcomed into its ranks 1 812 newly trained police constables.

Boshielo, who was speaking at the Bhisho Saps Training Academy, in the Eastern Cape, explained that the Constables form part of an intake of 4 500 police trainees who began their training in April.

“It is important to note that these new Constables, whom we take pride in, are the first batch of our 2024 Project 10 000 police recruitment drive - an initiative, spurred by a call from His Excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa to capacitate the Saps,” she said.

The Constables all graduated with an NQF level 6 qualification, as a minimum, and were recruited into the Saps following a rigorous recruitment process, Boshielo said.

The Constables graduated from various academic disciplines including Law, Policing, Forensic Science, Information Technology, Public Management and other fields of study.

“Today, they stood on parade at various Saps academies throughout the country including Bhisho, Mthatha, Bishop Lavis, Mankwe, Moloto and Graaf Reinet,” she said.

The Bhisho Saps Academy hosted the largest parade with 779 constables. 

Boshielo said the deployment of the new Constables was essential in bolstering Saps’ capacity to fight crime, address new crime trends, and tackle surges of old ones.

“As they embark on their workplace exposure duties, particularly during the upcoming Festive Season, the Saps urges our new members to remain vigilant and tactically alert at all times,” she said.

The second batch of the 2024 Project 10 000 police recruitment drive is currently undergoing training and will have pass-out parades in December.

Boshielo said government remains committed to ensuring that South Africa achieves the UN’s recommendation of one police officer for every 220 people.