It costs R1.1m to fully train one special task force member of the police service, which has lost 58 of the highly trained members to the private sector over the past few years.
However, minister of police Bheki Cele says they are reversing the bleeding of good police officers.
By improving their conditions and remuneration in a very significant way, I think the bleeding has been stopped. The officers who left are coming back due to the improved conditions provided, the better remuneration and the love for the badge, Cele said during a briefing on Operation Shanela yesterday.
The group is happy management has taken their complaints on board, he said.
We have also invited back experienced detectives who left the service honourably. It's one area where we have been pulled down. Several are coming back.
Cele said police arrested more than 500,000 people in 2023 as part of the nationwide Operation Shanela programme.
He said between May 2023 and May 2024, 616,423 suspects were detained across the country. He said 21% of those arrested were wanted suspects.
