[Image: Flickr]
In a country where getting a job feels like winning the Lotto, 185,000 young South Africans have flooded the SAPS online portal hoping to bag one of just 5,500 trainee cop positions.
And they didn’t waste time—67,000 clicked “apply” within the first 24 hours alone. If you blinked, you probably missed your shot.
While the SAPS is patting itself on the back over the “overwhelming interest,” the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) isn’t popping champagne. They’re raising red flags.
“We are worried that the online recruitment has received 187,000 applications. This sends a message that there is a high level of youth unemployment in the country. For this initiative, which only seeks to recruit 5,500 young people, too many young people have found themselves unemployed.
Some of them do apply to these jobs on the basis that they are desperate and not based on their desire to become police officers,” said POPCRU spokesperson Richard Mamabolo, who is currently attending a three-day political workshop in Boksburg.
If your only career plan is “maybe cop?”, we’ve got bigger issues.
According to Stats SA’s latest Labour Force Survey, 46.1% of the country’s youth are unemployed. Among those aged 15–24, a jaw-dropping 62.4% are sitting at home with degrees, dreams, and no job. That’s nearly 5 million young people without a steady income or a shot at independence.
Meanwhile, SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe is spinning the numbers like a pro.
“The South African Police Service (SAPS) is encouraged by the level of interest shown by young people in this country to join its ranks. In the last 48 hours, more than 185,000 applicants have applied for a spot on its Basic Police Learning Development Training Programme (BPLDTP),” said Mathe.
The province topping the “please hire me” leaderboard? Gauteng with over 53,000 applications. KwaZulu-Natal comes in hot with 30,000, followed by Limpopo (20,000), Eastern Cape (19,000), Mpumalanga (18,000), and the Western Cape trailing slightly with 17,000. Northern Cape? Eish, only 4,000 gave it a go.
In an unexpected plot twist, women are dominating the SAPS application queue.
“Female applicants are leading with more than 105,000 so far, followed by male applicants standing at just over 80,000. We request that applicants be patient as the SAPS official website is inundated with applications. Where delays are experienced, applicants are encouraged to continue to refresh the careers page,” said Mathe.
So, what’s the takeaway? Young South Africans are hungry for jobs, any job. Whether it’s about passion for public service or sheer desperation to escape the economic chokehold, one thing is clear: when 185,000 people apply for 5,500 jobs in two days, we’re not recruiting, we’re firefighting a crisis.
And the question screaming in my head: if it’s desperation driving someone to work in the police force, what kind of cop will that make them?
[Source: IOL]
