More police to hit the beat in South Australia

13 December 2023

The number of local sworn in South Australia Police recruits has almost doubled since last year, while a plan to deliver more police on SA streets from overseas gets the green light.

Damian, Balwinder and Hayley recently graduated from the South Australia Police Academy.

South Australia Police (SAPOL) has this year achieved its highest recruitment since 2018, with 230 local cadets sworn in - nearly double the 121 recruits in 2022 and its highest intake in five years.

Buoyed by the 'You Belong in Blue' recruitment marketing campaign launched in September, SAPOL has - and is continuing to - attract local officers, with the number expected to grow to 900 local cadets by the end of 2025-26.

The latest round of SAPOL officers graduated from Course 63 on Wednesday 13 December.

The 17 men and six women, ranging in age from 18 to 42, come from diverse employment backgrounds and will be stationed in metropolitan and regional areas, including Whyalla, Gawler Mount Gambier and Murray Bridge.

Graduate Hayley, who worked at the Department for Child Protection before joining SAPOL, said her experience with vulnerable children and young people would help in her new role.

“I took the children and young people to see their family or significant person for a supervised visit,” Hayley said.

“This taught me skills of conflict resolution and gave me an exposure to issues on child abuse in the state that police officers regularly investigate.”

Becoming a police officer is fulfilling a lifelong dream for Damian, who previously worked as a sales representative.

"Don't ever think that it is too late or that you couldn't do it," Damian said.

"I joined at 42 and had a lot of self-doubt during the recruitment process and early at the academy."

Meanwhile, as many as 200 experienced police officers from the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and New Zealand will also join SAPOL by the end of 2025-26, following Commonwealth migration labour agreement approval.

SAPOL will immediately start converting expressions of interest from international officers into frontline workers, and campaigns which have been running in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand will now be ramped up, appealing to the attractive lifestyle of living and working in South Australia.

If you’re interested in a career with South Australia Police, visit You Belong in Blue.