The South African Police Service (SAPS) announced that it has embarked on a recruitment drive to re-enlist ex-cops to boost its detective capacity.
They made it clear that they intended to go after officers who had left the service with good standing.
There have been issues with cases being withdrawn or taken off the record for some time, such as a lack of detectives.
Several political parties and civil society organisations have been pressuring the government to increase the number of police officers on the force.
According to police, this programme is part of the organisation’s plan to increase its capabilities for detective work.
In the 2023/2024 financial year, the SAPS re-enlisted more than 200 former police officers now serving as detectives.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said this drive aims to see more boots on the ground to assist in the investigation of cases and management of dockets.
“Successful candidates will be appointed in the ranks they previously held, only for the ranks of constable, sergeant, and warrant officer,” said Mathe.
Mathe said successful candidates who do not have experience/formal detective training will be subjected to three months of training immediately after appointment.
Chad Thomas, an organised crime investigator from IRS Forensic Investigations, said SAPS has seen an exodus of experienced detectives over the past two decades, resulting in a skills deficit.
“Recruiting ex-members experienced in investigations and familiar with SAPS protocols is a step in the right direction. SAPS needs to be fully capacitated and there has to be a skills transfer (mix of old and new). A fully fledged investigator has to be well trained, experienced in different investigative disciplines, and most importantly and often overlooked street smart,” said Thomas.
Calvin Rafadi, a forensic investigator and crime expert at Bizz Tracers, claimed that the SAPS top structure has run out of ideas.
“It is evident that they are clueless in solving crimes these days. If a location has been deemed a high threat, authorities must be sent in to conduct a thorough search and seizure. They must scour the area around any buildings, rivers, or mountains, stop and search, and remove any weapons.
“Speaking of the former detectives, they were skilled in managing informants; nevertheless, we will still need to train them in the use of contemporary technology, such as the most recent techniques for SIM-swap hijackings. By the time they departed, those measures had little influence on crime-related concerns and were not very effective,” according to Rafadi.
The Star
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