Overseas recruits stumble at SA Police Academy’s firearms hurdle

A number of UK police recruits were sidelined to administrative duties only after failing firearms training at the SA Police Academy.

Several overseas police recruits had to be sidelined to administrative duties after they failed firearms training at the SA Police Academy.

It is understood the four UK recruits were part of a cohort of 20 overseas and interstate officers who were set to graduate from a 15-week course on July 11.

However, as the other officers advanced to frontline duties, those who had not passed the firearms component of the training were placed on restricted duties because they were not authorised to carry a gun.

It is believed at least one officer had failed the firearms training twice.

Most officers in the UK do not routinely carry firearms.

Under SAPOL’s training policy, police cadets cannot leave the Academy or become sworn officers until they successfully complete all facets of their training.

However the UK recruits were allowed to move into non-operational roles after their course ended, while they continued their attempts to pass firearms testing.

All four were expected to undertake another gun skills assessment on Thursday.

Police initially stated they would not be confirming if they passed that test, however on Monday a spokesman said all had now successfully completed the training and would be operational on Wednesday.

Overseas and interstate recruits, who must already be experienced officers in their home jurisdictions, undertake a shortened course at the Academy, compared to the full nine to 11-month program cadets must undertake.

The overseas and interstate hires are sworn in as SA Police officers on the first day of training.

The SA Police Academy. Picture: RoyVPhotography.

An SA Police spokesperson confirmed there were four overseas officers “who were yet to pass a component of the program” at the time their group graduated on July 11.

The spokesperson said if any international recruits required “additional support of any of the training requirements, this is facilitated”.

They said the officers were put on administrative duties for a day prior to undertaking a firearms reassessment on Thursday.

Acting Police Minister Andrea Michaels said SA Police had “strict training standards” and “until these recruits pass the necessary firearms training, they will not be posted to operational duties”.

“The recruits have remained at the training academy, pending conducting their firearms training this week,” she said.

SA Police has long been struggling to fill vacancies within the force.

Last year it launched an international and interstate recruitment drive in a bid to lure officers to the state, with the first 15 recruits from this campaign graduating in March this year.

Opposition police spokesman Jack Batty said the police “recruitment and retention crisis has now got us staring down the barrel of a gun”.

“First, we saw the removal of literacy and numeracy testing, now we are seeing reports of international recruits graduating without being able to safely handle firearms,” he said.

“Labor should not be trying to paper over its police recruitment problem by simply lowering standards and inflating numbers.”

Ms Michaels said SA had the highest number of police per capita in the nation and the government was providing $172 million over six years to raise the number of police to 5000.

The Advertiser last month reported that prospective police cadets would no longer be required to pass spelling and numeracy tests to get into the force after SA Police scrapped the assessments to get more people through the door.

Also last month the masthead reported that police applicants who had previously failed competency tests, including psychometric and probity screening, would be reconsidered in a bid to get more cops on the beat.