BLOEMFONTEIN – The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Free State underscores the mental health crisis in reported suicide incidents involving police officers in the province over four years. Roy Jankielsohn, DA spokesperson on community safety, said the 29 suicide incidents by officers in four years were worrisome. His reaction followed confirmation by the MEC for Community Safety, Roads and Transport Jabu Mbalula, in a reply to a question in the Free State Legislature. He replied yesterday during the legislature sitting in Bloemfontein.
“This shocking statistic is a clear indication of the dire state of police support in the province,” said Jankielsohn. According to Jankielsohn, the mental health crisis is compounded by factors, including poor working conditions at police stations, referring to the findings during oversight inspections.
“Oversight visits to Saps stations and interactions with individual members indicate that they are working under very stressful conditions. Officers are expected to deliver results while working with severely inadequate resources such as vehicles, computers, printers and basic equipment. They operate in dilapidated buildings that undermine professionalism. They are often subjected to bullying, victimisation and a complete lack of empathy from senior management,” he said.
Jankielsohn said these stressful conditions hamper officers’ effectiveness in their duty to fight crime.
“The lack of ongoing training and support has limited the effectiveness of the Saps to the extent that many law-abiding residents are losing trust in the Saps to win the battle against crime. Urgent intervention is needed to restore dignity, support and professionalism to the Saps. This will ensure that those tasked with protecting residents are not themselves left abandoned and broken by the system.”
Jankielsohn pointed that officers face challenge of high caseloads with unreasonable pressure to perform detections and arrests.
” Saps detectives, including specialised units, have average caseloads of 395 dockets per person, while the ideal number is 100 dockets per person,” he said.
Jankielsohn said additional stressful conditions officers face include:
• A lack of trauma management and early retirement packages for those working under the most stressful environments.
• Lack of promotions and a poor outlook for career improvements, while nepotism and underqualified seniors remain a problem.
• Stressful work environments, long hours and forced transfers place pressure on families of Saps members.
• A violent and negative work environment, facing crime scenes, victims and criminals daily.
In August last year, the Saps management informed the Portfolio Committee on Police that 33 suicides occurred within the Saps in the 2019/20 financial year, 30 in the 2020/21 financial year and 39 in the 2021/22 financial year. Furthermore, 38 homicide–suicide incidents occurred from 2019 to 2022. The committee had emphasised during the 2024/25 budget process that the continued disregard of this important element has a direct impact on the morale and effectiveness of Saps members and their ability to fight crime.
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