AFRIFORUM DONATES TRAINED K9 TO SAPS IN WESTERN CAPE AMID SHORTAGE

By Jacques Broodryk
Chief Spokesperson: Community Safety
AfriForum

AfriForum today donated a trained police dog named Bruno (Belgian Malinois) to the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Western Cape to help address the critical shortage of K9 resources in the province.

K9 unit Bruno, Sgt. Teboho Thelejane, Bruno and Lt.Col. Ricardo Davids and Jacques Broodryk photos and videos supplied

Bruno is the first fully trained police dog that AfriForum has donated to the SAPS K9 unit and Jacques Broodryk, AfriForum’s Chief Spokesperson for Community Safety, says that he certainly won’t be the last.

“The donation of a trained dog follows growing concerns about the lack of operational police dogs.

Although the SAPS procured 95 dogs for the 2023/2024 financial year and to date 23 dogs for the 2024/2025 financial year, the rate at which these dogs are being replaced, cannot keep up with the rate at which they are retired,” says Broodryk.

According to Firoz Cachalia, Acting Minister of Police, the shortage in police dogs is caused by amongst other things injuries and aging dogs with acute medical conditions.

The interruption of the SAPS’s breeding programme, as well as the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, which stalled training efforts, increased the backlog even further.

“This shortage significantly hampers crime-fighting efforts, particularly in the detection of narcotics and search-and-rescue operations, all of which are key functions in areas plagued by ongoing gang violence,” says Broodryk.

AfriForum emphasises that effective policing requires adequate resources and that civil society has a role to play in supporting law enforcement where capacity constraints exist.

This donation forms part of AfriForum’s continued efforts to strengthen community safety and support the SAPS in its mandate to combat crime.

“Practical cooperation between communities and the police is essential to improve safety on the ground. By donating this K9, AfriForum aims to contribute meaningfully to enhancing the operational effectiveness of the SAPS in the Western Cape,” concludes Broodryk.

AfriForum intends to donate more trained police dogs to the SAPS in the future so that K9 units across the country have sufficient capacity to combat crime.

The civil rights organisation is committed to launching initiatives that promote the safety and well-being of communities, which is why AfriForum plans to set up a fund that will enable the training and handover of police dogs.