Zimbabwe Faces Police Crisis As Country Needs 36,000 Officers
Zimbabwe needs 36,000 more police officers to meet recommended policing levels, Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe has revealed, highlighting a major staffing crisis affecting police stations across the country.
The minister said Zimbabwe currently has only 14,000 officers, compared with the recommended 50,000, leaving large areas under-policed and overstretching existing officers.
The revelation was made during a National Assembly question-and-answer session held on 9 April 2026, where the government acknowledged that recruitment efforts are underway to address the growing gap.
According to the ZiFM Stereo News, Zimbabwe is experiencing a significant shortage of police officers nationwide, with authorities now urgently seeking new recruits.
Kazembe told Parliament that the shortage is already affecting operations.
“At the moment, we are in the process of looking for people who want to join the police force because we are losing a lot of people most of the time. Before we think of creating new police posts, there is a shortage of police officers in the existing police stations, which is one of the issues that we are fixing,” he said.
He added that limited resources are also slowing expansion efforts.
“It would be our wish to put police posts everywhere, but we do not have enough resources because of the statistics I mentioned,” Kazembe added.
Only 14,000 Officers For Entire Country
Kazembe revealed that Zimbabwe is operating far below recommended police staffing levels.
“For instance, in the country, we are expected to have 50,000 police officers in line with our population. Even in foreign countries, there are ratios they use to determine how many police officers are needed.”
He continued:
“At the moment, we have 14,000 police officers. It is our wish to reach 50,000; the ones we have at the moment are few, but it would be good if they were 50,000.”
The figures show Zimbabwe requires an additional 36,000 police officers to reach the recommended number.
Officers Leaving The Force
Kazembe also explained the reasons behind the shrinking police force.
“The shortage is a result of some police officers changing professions, resigning, and retiring,” he said.
He also noted that recruitment depends on approvals from other government bodies.
“So, for us to replace them, we cannot do that alone as the police. We have to seek concurrence from the Treasury and the Public Service Commission because they are the employer.”
Recruitment Efforts Underway
Kazembe said authorities have already informed relevant departments about the staffing crisis.
“We have informed them that we have a shortage of 5,000 police officers. We are recruiting police officers yearly and working towards ensuring that we reach the 50,000 mark,” he added.
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