Police Recruitment and Training; Committee Report on Petitions with Deputy Minister

Meeting report

The Chairperson opened the meeting. Members adopted the agenda for the day. it was announced Ms L Moss (ANC) has resigned from Parliament. On the Committee, she would be replaced by Ms S Patrein (ANC), who was an Alternate Member.

Update on petition

The Chairperson highlighted that the Department had been requested to give additional information on gender-based violence and femicide intervention, but it was noted that the petition did not raise any specific issues related to the Western Cape.

Committee minutes 1 March 2023

The minutes were considered and adopted.

Matters arising: Committee meeting 1 March 2023

The requested information in the meeting was not readily available; therefore, the Chairperson allowed an extension for the National Commissioner and Deputy Minister to provide it.

The Chairperson highlighted that proclamations tabled under Section 26 of the POCDATARA Act dating back to 2017 had no legal effect. She requested that the Minister withdraw them and urgently implement the new legislation. This in line with a legal opinion the Committee had received from Parliament’s Legal Services.

Mr O Terblance (DA) asked if this impacted on South Africa being greylisted. He asked for the record.

The Chairperson said the answer was categorically, no.

 Report of the Portfolio Committee on Police on Referred Petitions

The report was considered and adopted.

The DA reserved its rights.

SAPS Briefing: Police Recruitment and Training, Including Selection, Condition of Training Facilities and Capacity of Training Staff/Trainers

The discussion was led by Deputy Minister Cassel Mathale and General SF Masemola, National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS). The presentation included contributions from Maj Gen L Govender, Head of Human Resource Practices and Maintenance in the Division of Human Resource Management, and Brigadier Mpelele from Internal Audit. The presentation covered a range of issues such as recruitment and selection of entry-level police trainees, number of personnel (staff/trainers) within SAPS BPD academies, and repairs and renovations of training academies.

During 2020 and 2021, no intake of new police trainees were recruited due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2020, the SAPS also experienced significant reductions in the compensation budget, which necessitated a decrease in the staff establishment. The early retirement without penalisation initiative, introduced by National Treasury, also resulted in an exodus of 2 825 members, in addition to the normal attrition rate. As a result of the above initiative and no new recruits being recruited and trained, the SAPS had, since 2020 to 2022, an effective loss of 11 178, reducing from an establishment of 187 358 in 2020, to 182 126 in 2021 and 176 180 in 2022. During the 2022 State of the Nation Address, the President pronounced that resources would be made available to recruit and train an additional 12 000 new police personnel to increase capacity. To give effect to this pronouncement, a total of 10 358 new police trainees were enlisted in the 2022/2023 financial year. 495 completed their training, in September 2022, 9 168 completed their training, in December 2022 and 555 will complete their training in June 2023 (including 247 Bachelor of Science Graduates). Areas that were prioritised for capacitation included inter alia, General Detectives and FCS Units, Police Stations (especially the Top 30 High Contact Crime Stations), POP etc.

Members were taken through the requirements for enlistment, training capacity and interventions to address the deficit of trainers: SAPS has a database of the former SAPS retired trainers; The SAPS is currently busy with recruitment process of the former SAPS retired trainers as contract trainers; In addition, the SAPS will source other trainers within the SAPS as detached trainers; Street Survival trainers will only be called to present Firearm Training in the 2nd trimester of nine months of the Basic Police Development Learning Programme.

Recruitment of New Police Trainees: 2023/2024 Financial Year

• Initially, the planning was to recruit and train 5 000 new police recruits in 2023.

• During the 2023 State of the Nation Address, the President directed that 10 000 new police personnel will be recruited and trained.

 • Posts were advertised during June 2022 and 619 000 applications were received.

• 438 628 applicants were subjected to the prescribed psychometric and integrity assessment of which 30 191 (7%) fit the profile.

•11 345 authorisations have been issued for the Health Risk Manager to conduct an independent medical assessment

• 2 809 are ready for training, of which 1 972 (70%) are males and 837 (30%) are females. 62 are Law Graduates, 32 are Bachelor of Science Graduates and 507 are other Graduates (Total Graduates 01 – 21%), 2208 are matriculants.

• It is planned that the 10 000 new police trainees will be enlisted in April 2023 and commence with basic training.

• These new recruits will be recruited primarily to increase capacity at the frontline services (police stations) and identified priority environments such as Public Order Policing, 10111 Centres, FCS Units, Crime Intelligence (CI Gatherers), Criminal Record & Crime Scene Management, etc.

Members were taken through the repairs and renovations of training academies and acquisition of alterative training facilities.

SAPS Progress Report: Forensic Investigation/Audit of Project 10 000

SAPS, Component: Internal Audit, received a request to investigate the alleged irregular appointments of project 10 000 recruits from the Division: Human Resource Development (HRD). The Internal Audit prepared a mandate, based on the media information and information received from the reservists referred by the Division: HRD, for acceptance by the Acting Deputy National Commissioner: Support Services. The Divisions HRD and Human Resource Management (HRM), report to the Deputy National Commissioner: Support Services. The objective of the forensic review was to determine whether there were irregular appointments of the new recruits on project 10 000 and whether there were qualifying personnel who were not called for training as recruits, for project 10 000 and the circumstances thereof.

Members were taken through the approach to the investigation and the preliminary findings: The recruitment process in use is extensively dependant on the use of manual documents therefore, is open to abuse; Pre-approval of appointment of trainees is outside the computerised system thus allowing room for manipulation of the system and audit trail; PERSAP system is capable of keeping the audit trail for all recruitment process but not updated throughout the recruitment process by responsible employees.

The Forensic Review of the matter is ongoing and the number of trainees is cleared as the investigation proceed. Implementation of the SAPS’ Discipline Regulations, with preliminary findings, will expose the SAPS to litigation risk, which will harm the reputation of the organisation. The Forensic Review is anticipated to be finalised, on or before 31 March 2023.

Recommendations:

• Whilst a risk assessment was conducted on Project 10 000, continuously monitoring identified risk during the recruitment process will add value to the recruitment process.

• A review of the medical examination for trainees should be undertaken, as the current process is prone to manipulation.

• There must be regular monitoring of adherence to the requirements of the new recruits and the application of the policies by those involved in the recruitment process.

• Do away with over-reliance on manual recruitment processes.

• Strict supervision must be ensured during all stages of the recruitment process, until the placement of trainees in the academies.

• If trainees and recruitment personnel are found to have committed any misconduct in the recruitment process, the SAPS must invoke the relevant regulations of the SAPS’ Discipline Regulations.

See presentations for further details

Briefing by Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union

The presentation was led by the second deputy secretary general of POPCRU and Mr Thulani Ngwenya, who was the unit head. The issues covered included recruitment and selection, allegations of corruption in the recruitment process, training, conditions of training, and the capacity of trainers.

POCRU submitted that it was gravely concerned that the recruitment and selection of police officers continue to be engulfed in a myriad of challenges which sometimes compromise the integrity of the SAPS. Additionally, it identified a gap concerning inconsistency in the selection criteria as each province implements a different criterion.

POPCRU raised concerns about allegations of corruption. They said it was alleged that more than 1 000 recruits who were selected, after successfully qualifying for the SAPS recruitment criteria, were excluded from the final list of recruits and later replaced by names of those who paid bribes to recruitment officers. The other intervention that must be introduced to curb this malpractice is to consider a migration from the current manual application process to an electronic version as manual capturing of applications has proven to be prone to elements of corruption.

On training, POCRU said there is a lack of effective quality training in the SAPS; this has negatively impacted the performance of members, which in return, has opened a road to corruption and poor quality of police investigations and work ethic. In addition to training, it is key to mention that the capacity of the police to effectively deal with crime is also limited by the resources available to them. Effective policing requires both the provision of tools that improve police performance, which remains a critical challenge within the SAPS. Beyond physical resources, there is a need to pay attention to additional support through effective Employee Health and Wellness Programmes. Urgent intervention is therefore required in all these aspects.

POPCRU highlighted that the SAPS does not have sufficient training facilities to accommodate the number of intakes the department intends to recruit. Available facilities are old and dilapidated and therefore not conducive for conducting police training.

POPCRU concluded that The high rate of criminal activities committed in this country requires members of the SAPS to be highly vigilant and effective in combating and investigating crime; and this can only be enhanced through relevant recruitment strategies, proper training and development, as well as provision of adequate tools of trade. Lack of suitable training poses serious risks to the wellbeing of police officers and the safety of the majority of South Africans as these members face numerous work-related risks ranging from the pressing risks of fighting crime, to the prolonged mental strain of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The strain on the police wellbeing must be prioritised as these officers have a crucial role in ensuring the safety and security of most South Africans. Further, it is important that we all acknowledge that police officers can never have enough training. Training is a career-long commitment because of the constantly changing world within which police officers must constantly respond. In-service training or continuing professional education would therefore serve as one of the forms of development towards the attainment of effective and efficient service delivery to the community and to meet the needs and expectations of the country as prescribed by various legislative framework.

POPCRU said the challenges presented in this submission are not new; they are well-known by the management of the SAPS.

See attached for full submission

Briefing by IPUSA

The presentation was led by Mr Bethel Nkuna, president of IPUSA and Mr Mpho Kwinika, General Secretary of IPUSA. The presentation included recruitment and selection, allegations of corruption in the recruitment process, training, conditions of training, and the capacity of trainers. IPUSA stressed that the best candidates need to be hired who understand preventative policing as opposed to reactive policing and encourage community partnerships with the police. The key to preventing crime is earning public support. Every community member must share the responsibility of preventing crime, as if they were all volunteer members of the force. They will only accept this responsibility if the community supports and trust the police.

IPUSA has for quite some time now been observing how recruitment processes in the SAPS were used to employ candidates not based on excellence, but on whom you know from the service so that you can get the job (not a calling). The unemployment rate in the country is also a serious concern for SAPS because people who do not qualify to apply on normal recruitment are advised or encouraged to join the reserve force (reservists) and later absorbed into the service through special agreements. Lateral appointments are also a big problem for SAPS because it is through these appointments that people who had failed elsewhere are pushed into the service to man very senior positions with only three months of crash course. This kind of appointment is the most demoralising factor because members with expertise are overlooked for promotions and forced to support the preferred candidate with no experience at all.

Political appointments are also a big problem in SAPS. The Police employment regulations are made in such a way that the national Commissioner cannot appoint without the approval of the Minister of police. Any employee in the service, the National Commissioner of Police, must be able to appoint without interference from the Minister, unless the Minister observes the malfeasants in some of the appointments.

IPUSA said it seemed SAPS was no longer interested in vetting people who enter the service either through normal or lateral appointments. In December 2022, the new recruits were deployed throughout the country for safer festive purposes. These recruits did not disclose to SAPS that they have used addresses of family, friends or relatives in Gauteng for the sake of applying for these posts. Later, when deployed directly from the college, it was found that some were coming out of Gauteng. If proper vetting had been done, these could have been avoided.

IPUSA has observed that most of these recruits, when deployed to do their practical at police stations, have no proper structure in place to ensure that they get maximum support in terms of training. They are easily absorbed into the day-to-day policing matters in that station because of the critical shortages of manpower and vehicles. Depending on police stations, most of them are left unsupervised, lazing around to the annoyance of the public who assume them as lazy cops not willing to work, unaware that they are recruits there to gather experience for their training.

IPUSA still believes that before recruits are taken to college, they must be posted at the police stations where they will return from college for a period not exceeding three months to familiarise themselves with police adminstration (registers). This will reduce the burden on college training staff, who will, in turn, pay more attention to slow learners.

Police training should also be able to produce the recruits in crime detection and public order policing. No recruits must leave the college without having a basic public order poling course and detective course because they are the first line of defence in case of public disorder. They must be able to contain the situation until the public order policing units arrive.

See attached for full submission

Discussion

The Chairperson raised concerns about SAPS’s low minimum requirements for police officers despite the high number of unemployed graduates and qualified young people. She also questioned why SAPS continued to blame other departments for not delivering when they could do the work themselves. The Chairperson expressed disappointment with the lack of progress in the central firearm registry and the inadequate facilities provided to police officers. She also addressed the Committee’s public statement on donor proclamations and shared the legal opinion on the matter; that the President is responsible for signing proclamations received from the UN Security Council, and Parliament has no say in UN Security Council resolutions. The Committee had no authority to declare the proclamations invalid; therefore, they needed to correct their previous statements. The Chairperson requested that the Committee review its media statement before releasing it to the public.

Mr O Terblanche (DA) expressed his concerns about the absence of ministers from meetings. He said he was not convinced that mass recruitment would increase professionalism and reduce crime. He found that forensic presentation was very confusing and questioned why police continued to use a cumbersome and corruption-prone process. He also inquired about the number of applicants who had been withdrawn from training due to criminal activities and about how many police officials had been suspended as a result.

Dr P Groenewald (FF+) inquired about how SAPS intended to guarantee adequate training for new recruits considering the shortage of trainers. He asked for information regarding the steps being taken to address this shortage and requested data on the number of trainers required compared to current figures. Additionally, he questioned the methodology used for screening a high volume of applicants. He also inquired about the Department’s approach towards applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds who did not possess a valid driver’s license, which was a requirement set by SAPS.

Mr A Seabi (ANC) pointed out that the presentation on forensic investigation had been somewhat confusing and its recommendations were unclear. He inquired about the lessons learned from the investigation to prevent SAPS from making the same mistakes in the future. He further requested that SAPS provide clarification regarding the quality of matriculants since the agency had indicated that they did not meet SAPS standards. Additionally, he asked for information on the average age of police officers.

Ms Z Majozi (IFP) agreed that the forensic presentation was unclear and requested a separate presentation. She pointed out that the number of officers did not match the organogram and asked about plans to address this shortage. She also inquired about training programs undertaken by SAPS and raised concerns about tribalism within certain departments. She questioned how they planned to tackle the issue of tribalism, which she believed was contributing to corruption.

Ms B Marekwa (ANC) noted 17 academies across the country offered basic training. She noted that the number of trainees per province would be indicated on the slides. She suggested that for future intakes, SAPS should consider utilising the facilities used in 2022, including the Kimberley, Northern Cape facility. She emphasised the importance of ensuring that all facilities were continuously inspected and monitored to improve conditions for new intakes, especially after observing inhumane treatment and conditions in the incubator. She suggested monitoring and assessment should continue to ensure that conditions were habitable for trainees. She proposed that recruitment should also consider the 207 trainers across academies and explore the possibility of contracting former or retired members with relevant skills. She also discussed the issue of vetting and emphasised that it should remain a priority in the recruitment process. She noted that it should not be influenced by political pressure or by the need to meet targets. She stressed that vetting was critical to ensure that only qualified individuals were recruited into SAPS and did not have criminal records. She emphasised that it should be an accepted standard and never compromised at any point.

Mr H Shembeni (EFF) expressed concern about the recruitment process for police officers. He stated that becoming a police officer was no longer seen as a calling but rather as a means of finding employment. He highlighted the issue of corruption within the recruitment process, stating that if recruitment officers were corrupt, it suggested that corruption was acceptable. He questioned why assessment forms were completed using pencils since they could be easily changed. He also asked for clarification on what happened to the 337 applicants who did not appear in the system as having been assessed and what happened to the two officers involved.

Further, he raised concerns about the lack of new South African Police Colleges being built to accommodate students and questioned whether there was a training program for trainers. He also asked for clarity on the amendment of section 11, which discusses the requirements for South African citizens to become police officers. He then raised the issue of urine testing among candidates and how doctors were dealing with the challenge of candidates mixing their urine with water. Finally, he asked how many reserve list applicants were left out and how SAPS planned to deal with this issue.

Ms N Peacock (ANC) inquired about how the SAPS training program planned to tackle the issue of high crime rates, given that it was the same training being offered. She also raised questions about police officers who would resign immediately after being found guilty of committing crimes and whether this was an easy way for them to evade accountability. Additionally, she expressed concerns about SITA and asked whether the memorandum of understanding expected them to rely on SITA for help instead of finding more proactive ways of dealing with technology-related issues.

Mr M Shaik Emam (NFP) highlighted the issue of high unemployment rates in the country. He suggested that the Basic Education Department should introduce policing into the curriculum starting from grade 10/11 and drop some subjects so that individuals who were committed and passionate about being in the police force could be identified. These individuals could then undertake a two-year or three-year degree or diploma course to become professionals in the field. He also raised the question of what the appropriate salary package would be for police officers considering the risks associated with their job, such as travel by public transport, possession of firearms, and potential for corruption. He argued that paying police officers well would help maintain their integrity and prevent them from being attracted to corrupt activities. He also suggested that the police force should consider recruiting individuals with a background in maths and science since these subjects are important in areas such as forensic law and cybercrime.

Responses

An official from POPCRU stated that the Department was not only focused on combating unemployment but also on fulfilling its role as law enforcement, even though some Members had engaged in negative actions that brought disrepute to the organisation. They acknowledged that their group had faced condemnation and difficult questions from Members regarding these issues. They agreed that concerns about data and other matters were important and that the Department was currently working on addressing these issues. They also stated that they were open to questions and feedback from Members who wanted to push for change. Regarding recent events within the Department, they mentioned concerns about certain structures and actions that needed to be investigated further. They suggested that discussions with employers could help address tensions within the working environment. Overall, they expressed satisfaction with the discussion and the opportunity to engage in these important topics.

The Chairperson expressed condolences to the unions and staff of the SAPS National Commissioner. They requested that their condolences be conveyed to the families as well. The Chairperson acknowledged the unfortunate nature of the situation and noted that many Members felt there were limited preventative measures in place. As a result, much of the response to such events was reactive rather than proactive.

Mr Mpho Kwinika,   General Secretary, IPUSA, highlighted that they were satisfied with the proposed measures to deal with the issue at hand. However, they believed that the Fourth Industrial Revolution was the way forward. They suggested that using drones and face identification cameras in metropolitan areas could assist in fighting the problem. The Department needed to decide whether to embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which would change the way numbers were considered. He expressed concern about the need to guard against the Department’s reliance on large numbers and emphasised the importance of taking advantage of the current opportunity. They suggested continuing to increase the numbers in the short term and then transitioning to a focus on the Fourth Industrial Revolution as time passes.

The Chairperson confirmed that the Committee had identified the same issues that many of its Members had complained about, specifically, their inability to address crime. They also mentioned the importance of addressing both medical conditions of service and agreed-upon conditions of service within their union, noting that this was not solely a matter for service in central London.

General SF Masemola, National Commissioner, SAPS, explained that they had faced challenges in recruiting 10 000 people due to the number of routes that had needed to be taken into account. The COVID pandemic has also presented challenges in current and previous processes and steps have been taken to address corruption. The Commissioner had engaged with various players, including the National Treasury sector and the Department of Public Service and Administration, to improve operations. They were in the process of acquiring a new system that would trigger indications to operate more efficiently. Regarding the issue of recruits from other provinces, the Commissioner stated that it was not uncommon for provinces to recruit from another province if they had a shortage of candidates. They had a system in place to ensure fair distribution of recruits based on need. The Commissioner also discussed their delegated functions to sit in public works, including CCTV police stations. Although they regained control of that function, the rest of the functions were still with Public Works.

However, they were currently working on the minor work delegated to them. The Commissioner stated that they would ensure that the work was finalised. He pointed out that there was currently a shortage of trainers at colleges for police recruits. However, there were trainers in the provinces who were available for training sessions. These trainers were not only members of the police who carried out functional policing duties but they were also trained as police trainers. When a training session of this kind was called for, three members were called upon to assist in giving training. They underwent a refresher process before engaging in the training process.

The National Commissioner clarified that police recruits had undergone a police training program to become trainers. There had been a shortage of trainers recently; some had retired or moved on to other opportunities. Retired trainers were called back when needed and underwent a fitness test before being given a refresher course. The speaker confirmed that there were no untrained students at the colleges. Regarding the question about the shortage of police officers, he noted that the Department was recruiting 10 000 new officers that year and aimed to recruit more in the future. However, the Department would lose around 6 000 officers each year due to factors such as retirement and attrition. The speaker confirmed that the Department trained police recruits in various modules and practicals. He also noted that the Department aimed to recruit officers from local communities to ensure that members of those communities were not policed by their own children. The Department was also making efforts to improve training facilities and increase allowances for officers. The Department was also introducing training on cybercrime.

The Chairperson expressed frustration, stating that her question had not been answered. She expressed concern about the implementation deadlines and timeframes for SITA and the Department of Public Works, suggesting that blaming public works for police station delays was inappropriate. She criticised the response, stating that it was not SITA’s function and that they were only following regulations and rules. She also expressed concern about the dysfunctional central registry and the illegal firemen in the country due to the non-existent system. She emphasised that the inefficiencies were unacceptable and that the Committee did not want a legacy of inefficiency. She stressed the importance of amending the act to avoid failure.

Gen Masemola believed they would receive assistance from some agencies for a station currently in the pipeline. The Commissioner stated that those agencies had committed to helping as soon as their financial year began, but they had already taken some measures such as delegating certain projects and assigning screens for their CCTV project. The Commissioner clarified that they were not simply throwing their hands up and unable to respond effectively.

The Chairperson stated that she had no intention of engaging in dialogue with the National Commissioner being addressed. She asked SAPS to provide a signed agreement document, as it was not feasible to work on a project without a clear understanding of its parameters. She asked the National Commission to respond to the specific questions in writing, as there had been conflicting information provided on the matter in question. The Committee had been requesting information for the past four years, and the fact that they had less than a year left in their term made it imperative that they receive a satisfactory response. The Chairperson reiterated that they had been committed to fighting crime and corruption, and that failure to do so would be an indictment on their legacy. They also emphasised the need for progress reports from relevant authorities. The Chairperson expressed frustration with the lack of cooperation and stated it was unacceptable. She made it clear that the Committee was not being confrontational for the sake of it, but rather it was committed to achieving their objectives. She stressed that SAPS needed to address crime as a priority and could not afford to waste time on ineffective strategies. The Chairperson informed them that the Committee would be preparing a legacy report.

Lieutenant General Lineo Ntshiea, Acting Deputy National Commissioner: Support Services, addressed the issue of the IT system that needed to be used in the recruitment process. The speaker confirmed that in 2019, a resolution was passed to produce an E-recruitment system. The HR person immediately engaged with their community management system, and the team sat down to submit their specifications for designing the required system. Although there had been delays, the process was now better, and there would be a recruitment system in place that could be utilised. However, some processes such as the submitter test and physical assessment, would still be done manually. The recruitment process was long and cumbersome. She also mentioned that the next intake of digital dewfall would have this recruitment system in place. Regarding the questions, she agreed that the current manual processes were cumbersome and open to corruption. She stated the solution was the IRS recruitment system, which had already been initiated.

She explained that the integrity assessment and questionnaire were handled when the applicant was committed. The applicants were invited for a physical assessment if they passed the psychometric and integrity stages. This physical assessment was handled by the head office’s human resource development team, who had set standards for the assessment. Candidates who passed the physical assessment were invited for interviews conducted at the station level, with Christmas nation commanders and district commanders participating. The recruitment board, chaired by the provincial Commissioner or their deputy, reviewed the recommendations from the interviews and submitted their recommendations to the head office. The head office chairperson then took the applicant’s fingerprints to check for criminal records. The applicant was authorised to go for a medical assessment if everything was fine. The medical assessment was conducted by an independent chairperson appointed by police, and if the applicant passed medicals, they could attend training. The selection process aimed to select the best candidate for the organisation and eliminate corruption. The psychologists administered the psychometric test, while a contracted agency handled the physical adjustment, and doctors who conducted medicals were privately contracted. This process ensured that multiple independent players were involved in the process.

On the issue of the driver’s license, applicants from disadvantaged communities were exempted. The critical steps of passing the assessment and the political examination still had to be passed. The recruitment process was from the pool of candidates from the Department of Basic Education, where applicants who had passed matric could apply to become police officers. On the need to engage with the Department of Basic Education to make policing a subject at school to attract passionate and patriotic candidates. In a recent meeting, it was stated that individuals unable to find employment elsewhere often decided to pursue admission at tertiary institutions to join South African Police Service. On the question about the average age of police officers, she suggested that further research be conducted to provide this information to the Committee. In response to a question about the number of police officers lost, it was noted that between 2021 and 2022, the number was 11 100, with an average of 5000 to 6 000 officers lost each year. The allocation of 10 000 officers for the next three years was expected to address losses and increase establishment. It was also noted that there was a pool of individuals with good qualifications outside service, with over 57 000 applicants having bachelor’s degrees and 485 legal qualifications, and 247 science graduates. Efforts were being made to recruit graduates and matriculants, and feedback received from trainers suggested that those with bachelor’s degrees performed exceptionally well.

She confirmed that they would be using their own academies and were also approaching other departments to assist. The academies would be inspected throughout to ensure that trainees were kept well. She also mentioned that trainers would be taken from stations and that they would approach those who had retired, those who were fresh from retirement, and those who responded to recruitment adverts to be employed on contract. She agreed that vetting was important and that they would put strict requirements in place for recruiting trainers. They acknowledged that corruption was no longer punishable in SAPS and that there had been complaints about recruitment officers being corrupt. However, no recruitment officers have been charged for corruption, and the forensic investigation report was not yet final. The financial quarter report was expected by the end of the financial year, and if there was any implicating information, necessary action would be taken as outlined in disciplinary regulations.

Regarding using a pencil instead of a ballpoint pen during psychometric tests, she confirmed that they had been receiving complaints and were reviewing the current psychometric tests. They explained that a private service provider designed the system they were using, and answer sheets must be marked with pencil because the machine did not read ink marks. They acknowledged that using a pencil could lead to corruption, but they emphasised that this was how the system was designed. SAPS was taking note of input and was planning to introduce a new tool for psychometric tests that would use pen, pending approval from the new service provider. She also confirmed that SAPS had never built new colleges, and they were aware of this issue. She acknowledged that SAPS needed to amend their regulations and were currently working with their legal team to submit proposals to Secretary of Police. She confirmed that they invited their risk and integrity office to be part of their process to assist with highlighting risks and creating a mitigation plan. SAPS had discussions with health risk manager to address issues such as the risk of HIV during medical assessments. She was unable to provide information about number of reserves that were left out, but she confirmed that those who were not accepted did not meet requirements. They had information about those who applied and did not meet requirements, and this information could be provided upon request.

The Chairperson highlighted the need to address concerns raised by the Committee, particularly those related to regulations on qualifications. She suggested that regulations could be amended to include technology, literacy, and various levels of IT skills. She emphasised the importance of testing levels of numeracy and literacy as well as other skills that may be required. She also raised concerns about reserves not meeting requirements to apply precepts and questioned why they were allowed to be in police uniform.

Lt Gen L Molefe Fai, Divisional Commissioner: Supply Chain Management, answered concerning the maintenance facility. He highlighted that they had received permission from Public Works to fix up the South African Policy academy. They had been given authority up to a million to make necessary fixes and address challenges they faced. He mentioned that they would ensure places were habitable and that they already had interactions with Public Works which appointed Telkom Towers for the refurbishment process. Public Works and South African Pavilion were engaged in discussions on how to proceed with the project plan for fixing the registry. He emphasised that they were making progress with Public Works’ assistance and working to expedite station repairs.

The Chairperson requested the National Commissioner to provide a written response to the Committee regarding the number of firearms in the country, specifically the number of illegal firearms resulting from the collapse of the central registry. The Chairperson emphasised the need for accurate information on these issues.

Lieutenant General (Dr) Bongiwe Zulu, Divisional Commissioner: Human Resources Development (HRD), stated that the issue of training provided at police academies and colleges was a critical concern. The Basic Police Development Programme had six landing areas, the first being orientation to the police Code of Conduct, Code of Ethics, and regulations, followed by applied law, administration, community policing, crime prevention, and self-defence. The programme also included 180 theory and political training sessions and practical sessions in which recruits were prepared to police their communities. He emphasised the importance of practical examples and experience during training to help recruits better handle real-world scenarios. In the landmass problem, SAPS selected those who had worked for six months and assessed their qualifications. They calculated and reduced the problem by three months. Normal order module timeframe would be different because they recognised learning and training that had already taken place during their education or training. SAPS recognised the importance of the six-month programme and understood that sometimes not everyone would be able to get 1 020 hours of required exposure. It was worth noting the suggestion to extend the programme by three months to assist.

Regarding workplace exposure, it became a requirement for the entry-level five qualification accredited by the safety and security sector education and training authority. It used to refer to it as field training, but now we call it workplace exposure. The six-month program was solely for workplace exposure, during which the trainee constables were mentored, coached and trained by a workplace exposure official and a mentor. The mentor would ensure that the learners were exposed to different tasking activities that police officers were required to do. The mentor would also ensure the trainee constables were exposed to all the areas covered during their college education. When the trainee constables went on this excursion, they were always with a mentor and kept a record of who mentored them. After a certain time, SAPS would verify the qualification and issue the NQF level five certificate. To obtain this certificate, a person must be compliant and complete the residential training which is nine months plus the six-month workplace exposure program. They had an intervention regarding drinking water at Hammanskraal. They installed a purification system that purified water to collect it in the mess or outside classrooms with water coolers. SAPS also put up notices to remind everyone to use water from coolers. Regarding crowd management training, they had finalised a project to train 44 000 new constables in crowd management for platoon members by the end of May. They also had basic training for members at CSC visible police.

The Chairperson expressed concerns that the Committee was not focused on delivering results. The Committee struggled to schedule the physical Strategy Workshop and strategic planning session – it was struggling with dates and venues. The staff had been asked to write reports based on the Committee’s work, progress and challenges, which the Members would review. There have been strengths but also tremendous weaknesses and setbacks.

The Chairperson thanked the Members for their contributions and the unions for their support. Concerning matters must be prioritised.

The meeting was adjourned.