South Africa’s police service has more than 2,000 unfilled detective positions.

In a written response to Build One South Africa’s Mmusi Maimane, the minister of police, said that the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal were the worst off, reporting 902 and 639 vacancies, respectively.

The Eastern Cape was the only province where the number of filled detective posts exceeded the number funded, a rare surplus.

Without enough detectives, investigations stall, and justice is delayed. In March 2025, nearly half a million case dockets (499,873) were more than two years old, including 79,401 murder cases, according to a parliamentary response.

Adding to the problem is the fact that even when cases make it to court, only 12% result in a guilty verdict, according to criminologist Guy Lamb.