South African Police

South African Police Suid-Afrikaanse Polisie
Common name	South African Police
Abbreviation	SAP
South African Police logo
Flag of the South African Police (1981-1994)
Agency overview
Formed	1913
Preceding agency	Various
Dissolved	1994
Superseding agency	South African Police Service
Employees	65,000 (1975)
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Legal jurisdiction	South Africa
Governing body	Department of Police (South Africa)
General nature	Law enforcement Local civilian police
Operational structure
Units	List Criminal Investigation Department Crime Scene C1

The South African Police (SAP) was the national police force and law enforcement agency in South Africa from 1913 to 1994; it was the de facto police force in the territory of South West Africa (Namibia) from 1939 to 1981. After South Africa's transition to democracy in 1994, the SAP was reorganised into the South African Police Service.

The South African Police was the successor to the police forces of the Cape Colony, the Natal Colony, the Orange River Colony, and the Transvaal Colony in law enforcement in South Africa. Proclamation 18 formed the South African Police on 1 April 1913 with the amalgamation of the police forces of the four old colonies after the founding of the Union of South Africa in 1910. The first Commissioner of Police was Colonel Theo G Truter with 5882 men under his command. The SAP originally policed cities and urban areas, while the South African Mounted Riflemen, a branch of the Union Defence Force, enforced the state's writ in rural areas. During World War I, the SAP took over the Riflemen's jurisdiction, and most Riflemen personnel were transferred to the SAP by the end of the 1910s. By 1926, the South African Mounted Riflemen were disbanded and their duties taken over by the South African Police.

In 1939, the SAP took over the South West African Police and became responsible for policing South West Africa, which was under South African administration at that time.

Police officials often called on the army for support in emergencies. In turn, one SAP brigade served with the 2nd Infantry Division of the South African Army in North Africa during World War II. After the war, the South African Police joined INTERPOL on 1 January 1948.