SAPS launches e-Recruitment drive for 5 500 aspiring police officers
Women and men between the ages of 18 to 35 years old can apply through the SAPS website.
The SAPS has launched its much-anticipated e-Recruitment drive to recruit 5 500 entry-level police trainees for the 2025/26 financial year.
For the first time, SAPS is using an Electronic Recruitment System on its official website, enabling youth from all backgrounds to submit applications online for police trainee positions.
The digital platform aims to reduce paperwork, curb corruption and nepotism, prevent lost applications, and improve the fairness, efficiency, and speed of the recruitment process.
The nationwide recruitment drive opened on June 30, with online applications closing on July 18. It targets young men and women aged 18 to 35, who have no criminal records or pending criminal cases.
Applicants are encouraged to apply by visiting www.saps.gov.za/careers and selecting the e-Recruitment portal from the drop-down menu.
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SAPS will also conduct targeted recruitment to identify candidates with specific skills and qualifications, including graduates in law, policing, criminology, law enforcement, forensic investigation, and information technology, for specialised units such as the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), detective and forensic services, and crime intelligence (CI).
The rigorous selection process includes psychometric tests, integrity checks, physical fitness assessments, fingerprint/vetting screening, and medical evaluations, ensuring that recruits are disciplined, energetic, intelligent, and physically and mentally fit for policing.
Successful recruits will undergo nine months of training at SAPS academies nationwide and receive a monthly stipend of R4 500.
Over the past three years, the SAPS Project 10 000 initiative, championed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to strengthen crime prevention, has recruited and trained over 30 000 young people as fully-fledged police officers.
Currently, 5 500 trainees are in SAPS academies, with graduations scheduled for August and December. Applications are free, with no positions for sale. All applications must be submitted exclusively through the official SAPS website portal.
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