The Citizen reports that the SA Police Services (SAPS) this week welcomed 10,000 new recruits. But, a recent study by the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) indicates that this cohort are joining the ranks of members largely demotivated by the sorry state of affairs in the police, where they will find it almost impossible to fight crime.
On Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa told 2,938 of the recruits at the Tshwane police academy that their passing-out parade asserted their readiness to help eradicate crime, serve and protect. But according to the findings of the SRI’s survey on the working conditions and challenges of the SAPS, seemingly more than just the recruits’ resolve will be tested. Other than having no vehicles or equipment to carry out their duties, the recruits will find that they will also have to grapple dreadful working conditions. More than half of the 400 police officers sampled for the survey decried lack of equipment, resources, and support, as well as awful working conditions, as the biggest sources of their despair. Even basic forensic equipment such as gloves and fingerprint powder or swabs used for taking DNA samples did not exist at some stations. Police officers have to take turns to use computers and wait to use a single telephone while the backlog of cases increases. Some resort to using their own cell phones without compensation. This was also the case with stationery and printers, with detectives using outdated computers and unlicensed software. Researchers noted that the general safety of police members was another cause of great concern, with some stations not even fenced off and others not having holding cells. The report pointed out that the respondents became police members to serve their communities, but national government and top police management made it impossible to do so.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sipho Mabena at The Citizen (subscriber access only)
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