1 in 4 police officers in South Africa don’t have driver’s licences

Acting Minister of Police, Firoz Cachalia, revealed that a quarter of South Africa’s provincial police officers do not hold a valid driver’s licence.

Cachalia revealed this in response to a parliamentary question from Member of the National Assembly Christiaan Smit, who asked about the officers working for the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Smit asked the minister to disclose the total number of sworn officers employed by the SAPS per province, and how many of these officers were currently on active duty.

Additionally, he asked Cachalia for the current ratio of operational police officers to vehicles per province, and the number of officers with valid driver’s licences.

The police minister responded, saying that the SAPS has 111,182 sworn officers in accordance with the SAPS Act, who report to the various Provincial Police Commissioners.

This includes 329 Senior Management Service (SMS) members on salary level 13 or higher, while the remaining 110,853 officers are on a level 12 salary or lower.

The following table shows the total number of sworn officers per province:

Of this sum, there are 135 SMS members and 101,222 officers on active duty, which excludes individuals who have absconded, deceased members, and those currently in the process of terminating their service.

Officers without driver’s licences

The minister also revealed the officer-to-vehicle ratio for each province. The Western Cape had the lowest ratio at 1:3.25, while North West had the highest at 1:5.35.

1. Western Cape – 1:3.25
2. Free State – 1:3.55
3. Northern Cape – 1:3.75
4. Limpopo – 1:4.29
5. Gauteng – 1:4.32
6. Mpumalanga – 1:4.45
7. KZN – 1:4.49
8. Eastern Cape – 1:4.66
9. North West – 1:5.35

Cachalia then revealed the number of SAPS officers without a valid driver’s licence:

Of the 111,182 sworn officers assigned to the SAPS, 26,126 do not have a valid driver’s licence, or roughly 24%.

“Effective policing operations are dependent on the availability of vehicles and the allocation of personnel,” said the minister.

“Response times are similarly dependent on the availability of vehicles at any specific point in time.”

“As policing demands versus the availability of policing capabilities fluctuate on a daily basis, response times are managed through the prioritisation of policing responses according to the urgency and nature of the call for service, supported by the ongoing provision and maintenance of vehicles and the allocation of personnel, within the financial constraints the SAPS is facing.”

Cachalia did not reveal whether the SAPS had identified a specific province which had been affected by a shortage of qualified officers.