In just over three days, more than 172,000 applications were submitted for 5,500 trainee vacancies in the South African Police Service (SAPS), while the recruitment portal registered over 300,000 profiles.
The SAPS National Representative, Colonel Amanda van Wyk, stated in a Saturday announcement that over 232,000 applicants completed profile verification, and more than 190,000 started the application process.
The online recruitment campaign launched on October 21 and will run until Friday, November 13.
The highest number of completed applications was recorded in Gauteng—49,518, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 33,661 and the Eastern Cape with 17,441. Limpopo gathered 16,251 applications, slightly ahead of the Western Cape with 16,249. Mpumalanga registered 14,900 applications, Free State—11,345, North West—9,179, and North Cape—4,177.
According to Van Wyk, there were more women—over 95,000 applications submitted, compared to more than 76,000 from men.
Regarding racial background, SAPS received about 160,000 applications from African candidates, 11,000 from Coloured candidates, 600 from Indian candidates, and 150 from White candidates.
Van Wyk warned that the high traffic volume on the eRecruitment portal could cause slowdowns or delays in responses during registration and document submission. She noted that the SAPS IT department and its technology partners are working around the clock to manage the increased demand, and the service remains operational.
Applicants whose documents were successfully accepted were guaranteed that their applications were valid and no further action was required from them. SAPS strongly urged candidates to avoid multiple attempts at registration or application submission, as this could create additional strain on the system. The statement indicated: 'Only applicants who have not received a confirmation email should consider reapplying.'
Applicants were also advised to submit documents outside of peak load hours whenever possible and to use only official SAPS communication channels for recruitment updates.