Detective shortage in South Africa's high-crime provinces raises concerns
Two South African provinces, grappling with high crime levels, lack the basic resources to investigate and put criminals behind bars.
Responding to questions put forward by BOSA’s Musi Maimane, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said the South African Police Service (SAPS) has a staggering 2,344 vacancies among its detectives.
This, BOSA said, means thousands of criminal cases are going cold, with no follow-up investigations, no arrests, and no justice for victims.
“As more and more files pile upon the desks of detectives, criminals are not being brought to book, and justice is not being served for victims.
“Detectives are responsible for investigating serious crimes, gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, and building cases that lead to arrests and successful prosecutions. Without them, crimes remain unsolved, gangsters operate with impunity, and public trust collapses,” BOSA said in a statement.
Recently, the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) raised the alarm over the shortage, adding that this is not a new problem but something that has plagued SAPS for years.
The police rights union explained that this shortage has created a growing case backlog, leaving those in the posts overextended.
Earlier this month, the union met with Mchunu to highlight their concerns.
Popcru President Thulani Ngwenya said Mchunu stated that 5,500 trainees will officially join the police ranks in August and December 2025, with 4,000 new detectives to be assigned this financial year.
Last year, the Portfolio Committee on Police also voiced their concerns, adding that the continued attrition within the detective services has a direct impact on the ability of the SAPS to investigate criminal acts and to ensure that criminals are prosecuted.
“The effective capacitation of the detective services will be one of the first steps in the effective efforts to fight crime. We have an immense responsibility to ensure that the SAPS management put in place strategies to remedy capacity challenges within the detective services, and it will be an area of focus for this committee,” said committee chairperson, Ian Cameron.
IOL