Police crisis highlights urgency of SAPS reform bill

SK

Sara-Jayne Makwala King

10 December 2025 | 10:07

As testimony exposes deep problems in South Africa’s police service, experts say the SAPS Amendment Bill could lay crucial foundations for meaningful reform.

Police crisis highlights urgency of SAPS reform bill

Testimony at the Madlanga Commission and Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee has shown that South Africa’s police service is in serious trouble.

Problems range from weak intelligence and poor leadership, to staff shortages and slow promotions.

The new South African Police Service Amendment Bill is meant to fix some of these issues.

It updates the law to match the Constitution and the country’s current policing and safety policies. It also introduces lifestyle audits for all SAPS members, and integrity testing for new recruits.

Ian Cameron, chair of the Portfolio Committee on Police says these are the building blocks for the creation of a healthy police service.

"There is [already] vetting in place, they're meant to be vetted properly when they go to the academy, why that doesn't seem to happen, they always seem to have a different story."

The big question is whether these reforms should wait for the Madlanga Commission’s final report, or be pushed through now.

"There's nothing that's going to change drastically right now, so if the processing does start, there are so many things in the pipeline with regards to SAPS at the moment... there's so much to process," according to Cameron.
To listen to Ian Cameron talking to CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit, click the audio player below:
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