The South African Police Service (SAPS) is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa.
President Cyril Ramaphosa on 01 April 2022, named General Sehlahle Fannie Masemola as the new national police commissioner.
according to South African Police Service, There are 1,154 police stations in South Africa divided according to the provincial borders, and a Provincial Commissioner is appointed in each province.
The nine Provincial Commissioners report directly to the National Commissioner.
The head office is in the Wachthuis Building in Pretoria.
The Constitution of South Africa lays down that the South African Police Service has a responsibility to prevent, combat, and investigate crime, maintain public order, protect and secure the inhabitants of the Republic and their property, uphold and enforce the law, create a safe and secure environment for all people in South Africa, investigate any crimes that threaten the safety or security of any community, ensure criminals are brought to justice and participate in efforts to address the causes of crime.
Amnesty International and others have expressed serious concerns about South African police brutality, including torture and extrajudicial killings.
The current ranking system of the South African Police Service was adopted in April 2010.
The change caused some controversy as new ranks like “general” and “colonel” have a military connotations.
Furthermore, the new rank system mirrors the system used by the South African Police during the apartheid era.
In 2009, Deputy Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula spoke of making the police a paramilitary force by changing the SAPS ranking system so that it would closely mirror the military ranking system.
This created a significant amount of controversy from people critical of what they called the “militarization” of the police
SAPS organizational profile
| Rank | Number of officers/employees |
|---|---|
| Ministerial personnel | 32 |
| National Commissioner | 1 |
| Lieutenant General | 23 |
| Major General | 129 |
| Brigadier | 611 |
| Colonel | 2 215 |
| Lieutenant Colonel | 5 592 |
| Captain | 12 615 |
| Non-commissioned officers | 118 715 |
| Public Service Act employees (employed in terms of Section 8 (a)(ii) of the Public Service Act, 1994)[17] | 36 245 |
| Total employees | 176 180 |
