The South African Police Service (SAPS) this week said it was preparing to parade 10,000 newly trained police officers this week.
As the festive season kicks off, the police ministry will on Monday welcome 10 000 newly trained constables within its ranks to help ramp up the fight against crime.
The constable who will be graduating are part of the Project 10,000 officers initiative.
They will be deployed to various stations, units and service points to bolster capacity and enhance police visibility.
The group of “fully-fledged constables” is reported to have successfully undergone and completed the basic police learning development programme.
“The nine-month programme is a combination of theory and practice which prepares police officers on executing their constitutional mandate of preventing, combating and investigating crime, protecting the inhabitants of the country and their property, as well as upholding and enforcing the law,” the police ministry said in a statement.
“A total of 495 of the 10,000 trainees consisting of law, criminologists, policing experts and forensic investigation graduates have already been deployed to various stations after completing their training in September this year.
“Four thousand of the newly trained police officers will be deployed to the public order police unit in a bid to bolster the organisation’s efforts in responding to crowd control measures, especially during violent protests and other opportunistic crime. Some will be deployed to the visible policing division to assist in heightening and enhancing police visibility through integrated crime prevention operations.”
Some of the officers will be deployed to 30 police stations where they will serve in the family violence, child protection and sexual offences investigation (FSC) units.
The national inspector tour will see Police Minister Bheki Cele, accompanied by other high-ranking officials, engage with communities across the country to ensure a safe festive season.
Source: Sowetan Live, Times Live, Eyewitness News, image from Twitter: @MadiBoity
