'Cops' mental state leading to tragedies'

33 police suicides in 2019-20 financial year, 30 in 2020-21, 39 in 2021-22.

- Zanele Mbengo

Putting the South African Police Service (Saps) in the spotlight, parliament's police portfolio committee is citing urgent concerns about inadequacies in the budget and programmes to support the mental health of police officers.

This call for reform comes in the wake of the recent suicide of a member of the Saps antigang unit, troubling statistics and a broader crisis in which Saps' officers face severe mental health challenges.

Ian Cameron, chair of the police portfolio committee, has voiced strong criticism of the current mental wellness budget.

He emphasised that the problem extended beyond financial constraints.

"It is not just about the budget but about having proactive and tailored programmes that address the current environment," he said.

Cameron noted the alarming statistics indicating that the number of employee health and wellness (EHW) personnel was insufficient.

"The fact that there are only 621 EHW personnel servicing about 187 278 members within the Saps is worrying.