Every year, universities train young people in policing and criminal justice, and thousands more apply to join the Namibian Police. Yet the specialised posts available to graduates remain scarce.
Every year, institutions such as Nust and STADIO send out young men and women who have studied criminal justice, police science, legal studies, cyber security and correctional services.
Many of them have one wish: to serve the public through the police. But when they look at Namibian Police Force (NamPol) recruitment adverts, the door is very narrow for them.
This isn’t an attack on the police, but a call to reform a vital institution, professionalise it, and draw on Namibia’s educated talent.
Police careers attract strong interest: 52,972 young people applied for 2 000 posts in 2024/2025. NamPol spokesperson Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi confirmed: “The overall recruitment figure was 2 000, which includes a special recruitment category.” In 2023, 42 967 applicants competed for 1 000 cadet constable posts. Graduates compete for few specialised places. The 2025/2026 advert offered 150 posts for Bachelor of Criminal Justice in Policing holders and 50 for Cyber Security graduates. Published notices show that the advert closing 13 May 2026 listed only 40 posts each for legal studies or policing-related qualifications, cyber security, and financial and commercial fields.
The issue isn’t police recruitment; it’s that graduates with specialised training are treated like other applicants, while few roles match their skills.
Look at what these graduates have already achieved. Degrees in criminal justice, legal studies, and cybersecurity go beyond theory, covering criminal law, evidence, procedure, investigation, human rights, and police ethics. Many programmes include practical investigations, and graduates often work with police stations to observe complaint intake, docket opening, and investigative processes.
Cybersecurity graduates learn to find and protect digital evidence, while legal studies graduates know how to build court-ready cases.
What is left to teach them? In my view, mainly the elements that only a police college can provide: how to handle a firearm safely and lawfully, how to live under police discipline, drill and fitness, and the force’s own procedures.
NamPol’s nine-month cadet training comprises six months of basic training and three months of work-integrated learning. Law graduates with investigative experience could complete a shorter, focused course before serving.
That saves public money and gets trained people to needed street and desk roles sooner.
The need is clear: In November 2022, then Inspector General Joseph Shikongo said police membership fell from over 17 000 in 2016 to just over 10 000 because of high turnover and too few replacements.
A recent New Era column reported about one officer per 215 people nationwide, with major regional differences. Zambezi’s governor reported 712 officers for 142 000 residents; Kavango East had 665 officers against an approved 3 038.
The regional crime investigations coordinator, Bonifatius Kanyetu, said the standard is 50 dockets per investigator, yet there is “no investigator who has less than 250 dockets.” A docket is a case file, but behind each one is a victim awaiting justice and a suspect entitled to a fair investigation. When investigators carry at least five times the standard caseload, quality suffers: evidence is missed, cases drag on, and public trust erodes. Graduates with investigative experience can help ease the burden.
Reform can be simple. NamPol should recruit based on population growth, crime trends and its approved staffing structure, announcing intakes on a predictable schedule. It should also establish a clear graduate-entry route. Rather than copying England and Wales’ 2020 degree requirement, Namibia could offer graduates a fast track and rank and salary progression that recognise their studies. Finally, it should develop specialist careers, training, deploying and promoting investigators, cybercrime officers, forensic and financial crime staff, and gender-based violence and child-protection officers for their expertise.
Fourth, keep selection open and fair: with over 50 000 applicants, young people must trust that talent counts. Publish criteria and shortlists, and explain final decisions.
Fifth, use partnerships and reserves. NamPol says it recruits crime prevention groups, NYS graduates, and reservists. Universities could contribute through structured internships and a graduate reserve programme.
“The police are the public, and the public is the police.”
Often linked to modern policing founder Sir Robert Peel, this principle underpins community policing: officers must understand those they serve. Graduates from every region speak local languages and know local problems; recruiting them builds public trust.
Some claim the state has limited funds, but graduates alone cannot fix the force. Constables, vehicles, equipment, and stations matter too. Yet training graduates without using their skills costs us in unsolved cases and lost confidence.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security, NamPol, universities and civil society should align training with recruitment. After more than three decades under the Namibian Police Act, 1990, reform should assess whether the force’s structure, career paths and recruitment rules meet today’s crime challenges.
Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Namibia has already invested in that weapon.
The police are vital and must be taken seriously by staffing them with trained, educated, willing people. Namibia has people ready to serve; it lacks a system ready to receive them.
*Mandume Gabriel is a youth leader, public speaker, graduate and scholar.
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