36/1/4/1/201400087
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO 490
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 11 JULY 2014
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 4-2014)
490. Ms D Kohler (DA) to ask the Minister of Police:
(1) Is there still a moratorium on appointing reservists; if not, on what
date was the moratorium lifted;
(2) (a) when will his departmentâs new policy on reservists be
implemented and (b) what is his departmentâs plan for the use of
reservists in the future;
(3) was a reservist recruitment drive conducted in 2013; if so, (a) how
many police reservists were recruited and (b) for which areas
respectively?
NW569E
REPLY:
(1) No, the moratorium on the recruitment of reservists was in place from
1 April 2009 until 10 December 2009, when it was uplifted by the
former Minister of Police.
(2)(a) The South African Police Service is in process of implementing
the Departmentâs new policy on reservists, following the promulgation
of the Regulations for the South African Reserve Police Service in
Government Gazette, GR No. 36922 dated 15 October 2013, as well as the
alignment and final approval of the National Instruction for the South
African Police Service, National Instruction 3/2014, on 1 March 2014.
(2)(b) Reservists will support the South African Police Service as
force multipliers at sector level on a voluntarily basis without any
remuneration informed by operational demands and needs prevailing at
local level, appointed in terms of the South African Police Service
Act, 1995 (Act No 68 of 1995), with full policing powers when
officially on duty.
National Instruction 3/2014 further provides for the appointment of
reservists in the following two categories of utilisation in future:
⢠Category 1 Reservists: Functional Policing:
A reservist appointed to this category shallâ
o perform general policing functions in sectors at station level
as part of the sector deployment or in a unit if a specific
operational need exists;
o perform duties in the Community Service Centre: Provided that
the Provincial Commissioner, at the request of the station
commander, has approved the utilisation of Category 1 Reservists
for this purpose;
o perform duties under the supervision of a permanent member or
experienced reservist for the purpose of proper control;
o be trained in relevant aspects of functional policing applicable
to his or her duties and must be provided with additional job-
specific in-service training, depending on the functions he or
she will be required to perform; and
⢠Category 2 Reservists: Specialized Operational Support:
A reservist appointed to this category shallâ
o be a person who has particular skills or expertise which can be
utilised operationally by the Police;
o perform specific functions in his or her field of expertise;
o be trained in relevant legal aspects, policy and instructions
applicable to his or her specific functions.
(3) No recruitment drive was conducted during 2013 pending the
finalisation and approval of the Regulations for the South African
Reserve Police Service and the National Instruction.