SAPS Recruitment Contact Details

The SAPS puts a warning at the top of its own careers page, above everything else: be aware of bogus website advertisements on SAPS traineeship and vacancies. Read that before you read anything else, because police recruitment is one of the most heavily impersonated job streams in the country.

Official contact details

• Head office: 012 393 1000
• Address: SAPS Head Office, Telkom Towers Building, 152 Johannes Ramokhoase Street, Pretoria
• Postal: Private Bag X94, Pretoria 0001
• Applications: the E-Recruitment portal on saps.gov.za, under Careers

The SAPS does not publish a recruitment telephone number separate from head office, and it does not recruit through agents. Every legitimate route starts at saps.gov.za.

How the SAPS actually employs people

There are two entirely different employment tracks and they are governed by different laws. Police officials are employed under the South African Police Service Act, 1995 (Act No. 68 of 1995). Civilian employees are employed under the Public Service Act, 1994 (Act No. 103 of 1994). Most functional police officials are directly involved in preventing, combating or investigating crime; other officials and civilian personnel carry out support functions. Which Act applies changes the conditions of service, so it is worth knowing which post you are applying for.

• Police Trainees: the entry route for new recruits into the police service itself.
• Internship Programmes and Reservists: separate streams with their own requirements.
• Re-enlistment: for former members returning to the service.
• Senior Management: advertised separately from general vacancies.

Spotting a fake SAPS recruitment advert

The pattern is consistent. A message circulates on WhatsApp or a jobs page announcing SAPS trainee intake, with a form to fill in and a fee — for a medical, a uniform, a training place, a fitness test or a police clearance. The SAPS charges nothing to apply. There is no fee at any stage of the recruitment process, and no legitimate SAPS recruiter will ask for one, or for your banking details, or for a payment to secure a place.

• Check every advertisement against the Careers section of saps.gov.za before acting on it. If it is not there, it is not real.
• A genuine vacancy carries a reference number and a closing date and directs you to the E-Recruitment portal, not to a personal cellphone number.
• Report a fake recruitment advert as fraud to the SAPS through Crime Stop, and to the station nearest you.

Website problems rather than recruitment ones

If the site itself is broken, the SAPS lists websiteandsocialmedia@saps.gov.za for content issues and sapsweb@sita.co.za for technical assistance from the SITA web team. Neither of those handles job applications.