South Africa’s police force is in the grip of a silent emergency, with an average of one SAPS officer dying by suicide every week. The writer says systemic institutional neglect and a damaging culture of silence are failing those tasked with our protection.
Earlier this month, a 47-year-old Free State police officer drove to a family gathering in Hennenman in the early hours of a Sunday morning, searching for his girlfriend. When told she wasn’t there, he opened fire, killing three people and injuring two more. The officer then turned his service weapon on himself.
Less than a month earlier, an Eastern Cape constable forced his way into an apartment and shot and killed his former girlfriend, who was also an officer, another fellow officer, and himself. Three police officials died in a single incident: two victims and one perpetrator.
These incidents happened around Men’s Mental Health Month and spoke directly to the urgent need our law enforcement officers have for accessible, confidential, and stigma-free mental health support before personal crises become public tragedies.
One SAPS member died by suicide every week on average last year, according to the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP). A 2025 survey study published in the South African Journal of Psychology found that nearly half of officers and paramedics showed signs of depression – almost five times higher than depression prevalence among the general population. These brave public servants also experienced anxiety at nearly two-and-a-half times the rate and PTSD at 21 times the rate of the communities they serve.
