Youth unemployment crisis revealed by surge in police recruitment applications
The South African Police Service (SAPS) has recently witnessed an unprecedented surge in applications for its newly advertised 5,500 police recruitment vacancies
Image: SAPS
The Police and Prisons Civil Union (POPCRU) has expressed concern regarding the sharp increase in young people applying for the 5,500 police recruitment positions.
This comes as the SAPS has confirmed receiving 67,000 applications within the first 24 hours and more than 185,000 by the second day.
Speaking on behalf of the union currently meeting for a three-day political workshop in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, this week, POPCRU spokesperson Richard Mamabolo, revealed that this reflects a sense of desperation and highlights the significant gap in youth unemployment.
"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," he said.
The recent Statistics South Africa’s Q1 2025 Quarterly Labour Force Survey has put the youth unemployment rate at a staggering 46.1%. Within that, for young people aged 15–24, that figure has climbed to 62.4% – the highest of any age group, while overall, 4.8 million young people are reported to be without jobs.
On Tuesday, the SAPS confirmed that its first-ever electronic recruitment system received over 67,000 applications within the first 24 hours, and 185,000 in 48 hours.
However, in a statement on Wednesday, the SAPS, through its spokesperson, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, said it is encouraged by the interest shown in the recently advertised posts.
"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.
Gauteng leads the online application with more than 53,000, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 30,000, Limpopo with 20,000, Eastern Cape with 19,000, and Mpumalanga with 18,000. Western Cape comes in at number six with 17,000, followed by Free State with 14,000, North West with 11,000, and lastly, Northern Cape with 4,000 applications.
In a big twist, female applicants lead the charge as more than 80,000 female applicants have shown interest in becoming policewomen.
"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," Mathe stated.