Law enforcement graduates want to be prioritised by the SAPS

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There’s unfair discrimination against unemployed Law Enforcement Graduates in the South African Police Service (SAPS) recruitment process. This is according to disgruntled graduates in the law enforcement fraternity, frustrated by the prioritisation of matriculants when recruiting police constables in the SAPS.

The graduates marched to Tshwane House and the Union Buildings in Pretoria demanding to be prioritised in the SAPS recruitment process.

Overqualified to be recruited as police constables, and inexperienced to be recruited for positions they’ve graduated for – that’s the predicament facing many graduates in criminology, policing, forensic pathology among other professions within law enforcement agencies.

They’ve marched to Tshwane House and the Union Building to get the attention of the police minister and the Community Safety MMC in Tshwane.

“They worked very hard and attained their qualifications, and they should be hired for the work they went to varsity and colleges for, instead of prioritising matriculants,” says Mashudu Phalandwa, policing graduate.

“There is a big staff shortage within SAPS, but the powers that be don’t see value in candidates that have gone for further training and that is disheartening,” says Tshepiso Dingane, BA Law graduate.

There are currently only 177 000 detectives within SAPS catering for the whole South African population, making their case load enormous.

The shortage of forensic analysts at the laboratories lead to some rape and murder cases being unresolved due to backlogs in DNA testing and sampling.

Tshwane Community Safety MMC received their memorandum of demands.

“They are in the process of restructuring the metro police and that none will be regarded as being overqualified, but that people with integrity will be prioritised,” says Ald Grandi Theunissen, Tshwane Safety MMC.

The marchers refused to give a representative from the presidency requesting for a more senior official. They’ve given the presidency and Tshwane Metro seven days to address their demands.

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