After new Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s commitment to enhance police capacity by expanding the workforce to bolster their fight against crime, ActionSA has called on him to ensure that thousands of side-lined police reservists are fully integrated into South African Police Service (SAPS) crime-fighting efforts.
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.
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