LOCAL police are still awaiting a national directive relating to the recruitment of reservists at stations throughout Zululand.
There has been a moratorium on the intake of new reservists for several years, pending the redrafting of the recruitment policy for SAP volunteers.
But while the officers in blue await new regulations, Richards Bay police spokesperson, Capt Debbie Ferreira said the current reservists were active and operating well on the ground with police.
‘No new reservists have been recruited but the volunteers, who have been with the station for many years, are still assisting police to execute arrests,’ said Ferreira.
A reservist is appointed by the National Commissioner to render services as a volunteer in support of the police.
Of the 53 200 reservists in the country, 2 944 are in KZN.
In 2009, radical changes to the working conditions of police reservists – including being barred from doing day-to-day policing – had been outlined in a draft of the police’s national instructions for volunteers.
The draft stated that reservists should wear a uniform clearly distinguishable from the police. Badges, patches and peaks should also be different.
The rank buttons for reservists would become bars, similar to those used to distinguish grades of security guards.
Unemployed people, tow-truck operators, private investigators, taxi industry personnel, gambling industry staff, security company staff and bouncers were among those barred from being reservists.
Many volunteers at the time said they would resign from the service if the changes were implemented because it would make them ‘glorified security guards’.
According to the draft regulations, a reservist’s role was to support crime prevention and reduction operations at police stations.
It added that under no circumstances should reservists be used to perform day-to-day policing.
However, reservists could be allowed to perform special functions in the police’s dog unit or air wing.
Compensation
In August 2013, police reservists marched to the Union Buildings demanding permanent employment in the SAPS and compensation.
Reservists said they were putting their lives on the line every day and were being treated unfairly.
Business Against Crime Manager Dave Whittaker told the Zululand Observer it would be a ‘good idea’ if national police decided to resurrect the recruitment of reservists.
‘While they are not very functional at this stage, there are many great reservists currently doing a lot of work in Zululand,’ said Whittaker.
However, he added that reservists should remember they were people, who ‘served in the spirit of uBuntu with a meagre allowance’.
@RonelleRamsamy
