Tinashe Sambiri– A widening gap in police numbers is putting increasing strain on law enforcement in Zimbabwe, with authorities warning that the shortage is contributing to growing security concerns.

Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe revealed the situation during a session in the National Assembly, acknowledging that the country’s police force is operating far below its required capacity.

“We are currently trying to attract more recruits into the police service because we are consistently losing officers,” he said.

“Before we can even consider expanding police posts, we first need to address the shortages at existing stations, which remains a major challenge we are working to resolve.”
Kazembe noted that limited resources are also hindering efforts to expand police presence nationwide.

“We would want to establish police posts in many more areas, but our capacity is constrained by the shortages and available resources,” he explained.

He highlighted the significant disparity between the ideal and current number of officers, saying Zimbabwe is far from meeting its policing targets.

“Based on our population, we should have around 50,000 officers. That is the standard we are aiming for. However, we currently have only about 14,000 officers. It is clear that the numbers we have are not sufficient, and reaching the 50,000 mark remains our goal.”

According to the minister, the staffing crisis is being driven by resignations, retirements, and officers leaving the force for other career opportunities.

“We are losing officers through various means, including resignations and retirement. Replacing them is not something the police can do independently,” Kazembe said.

“We must work with Treasury and the Public Service Commission, who are the official employers. We have already informed them that we are short by at least 5,000 officers.”
He added that recruitment efforts are ongoing, with the government working to gradually rebuild the force.

“We continue to recruit annually as we push towards closing the gap and strengthening our police service,” he said.