SAPS withdraws notice on recruitment and tattoos

The SA Police Service (SAPS) has abruptly withdrawn a published notice on new requirements for entry-level applicants that prevents the recruitment of individuals with visible tattoos.

The information notice was published in the Government Gazette on Monday and withdrawn on Tuesday without any explanation, though the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) said the changes were announced without consultation.

The SAPS said it needed to relook at three requirements for applicants as entry-level trainees, officially known as constables — the nationality of potential recruits, visible tattoos and age.

The SAPS said its policy on tattoos would remain because their visibility might negatively affect perceptions that members of the community hold of the police and their neutrality.

“It may also be necessary to consider that rules of this nature do not only relate to the fact that an individual may choose to have a tattoo, but also to the fact that the presence of tattoos influence perceptions of members by communities that we are required to serve and may, in turn, affect the ability of members to perform their duties,” the information note reads.

“Tattoos are historically associated with specific [groups], often negatively connected with marginalised groups and backgrounds (for example, former prisoners, gangsters and motorcyclists). The service cannot afford the risk that communities view members as associating themselves with any specific group, to the perceived detriment of others, who do not belong or associate with such groups.”

The note, which is intended to guide amendments to the SAPS regulations, also says that even if tattoos are not visible when members are wearing uniform, they must not be “irreconcilable” with the objectives of the service.

“For instance, if the person takes off his or her shirt and has a tattoo, it must not be irreconcilable with the objectives of the service.”

The note adds that agreement could not be reached with organised labour on the matter.

On the issue of age, unions persuaded to increase the age limit for recruits to 35 years from 30 years. 

“It would be justified to align the recruitment age with that as set out in the definition of youth,” the note states.

Popcru had previously wanted the age limit to be raised to 39 years and that having a driver’s licence should not be a requirement for new recruits.

The SAPS also stood its ground on the nationality of recruits, saying only SA citizens should qualify. This position might be open for a legal challenges after the Constitutional Court ruled in 1997 that exclusion of permanent residents from employment opportunities in SA constituted unfair discrimination.

“The SAPS believes reintroducing the requirement that a person may only be appointed in the SAPS if he or she is a SA citizen can be justified due to the uniqueness of the SAPS,” it said in the note.

Popcru said in a statement on Tuesday it was concerning that the SAPS had “unilaterally considered the matter up to this point without consultation”.

“At the moment we do not have a clear view as we were not taken through the amendment therein. We actually find it unfortunate that the SAPS did not follow the established rules of engagement in this regard, wherein a platform is created through bargaining councils for stakeholders to be taken through and engaged on such proposals,” the union said.

The note was signed by police commissioner Fannie Masemola and police minister Bheki Cele.

Update: October 24 2023
This story has been updated to reflect that the SAPS withdrew its notice on new requirements.

khumalok@businesslive.co.za