CHAPTER 8: Recommendations

CHAPTER 8

Recommendations

SAPS` COSTLY RESTRUCTURING
A Review of Public Order Policing Capacity

 

Monograph No 138, October 2007

 

Bilkis Omar



These recommendations hope to assist in achieving a coherent strategy for improving the quality of public order policing.

Policy, legislation and regulations

  • The Regulation of Gatherings Act 205 of 1993 governing crowd management needs to be updated. While the 14-year-old Act is a most useful piece of legislation, practical experience in the management of events has shown that there is a need to more clearly define the role and responsibility of march organisers and marshals.

  • CCUs need a new working document providing guidance on their new roles. With the dissolution of the area level, Standing Order 262 and other policy documents have become outdated and need to be revised.

Management and restructuring

  • Decisions from SAPS national level that affect provincial or local level police should be discussed with the provincial commissioner’s office before being made. Many directives issued at national level supersede the provincial office, thus creating confusion and challenges for units, stations and the provincial office. Better communication and consultation is essential.

  • The restructuring which diminished the role of the Crime Combating Units in September 2006 should be re-assessed. Trends are showing an increase in protest marches and the FIFA World Cup in 2010 is looming. Although the area policing level has been disbanded, the buildings located in these unit areas could still be utilised; the units could become accountable to the provincial office and be
    renamed Provincial Public Order Police/

  • The Crime Combating Units are experiencing serious human resource shortages. The restructuring has resulted in the units being depleted by 50 per cent, while continuing to service the same geographical areas. The additional travelling required by the restructuring has exacerbated the problem. If the problem is not addressed, members are sure to suffer severe stress and fatigue.

  • The SAPS should, as far as possible, not use the CCUs for policing needs other than those for which they have been specially trained. In this respect it will be interesting to assess the statistics showing the outcome of Operation Trio. If the statistics look favourable for the police, this could spur the SAPS management to permanently or at regular intervals call on the CCUs to support general policing operations. This would further undermine the capacity of the units to undertake public order policing.

  • The members of the CCUs who have been sent to stations to assist in crime combating should be returned to the units from which they came. If necessary, they can be deployed from their units to assist stations with crime prevention operations.

Training

  • While CCU members seem to be well informed about the Regulation of Gatherings Act, an in-depth refresher course spanning at least three days is required, at least once every three years.

  • Some of the outdated terminology that is still sometimes used by CCU members needs to be addressed. ‘Crowd control’ is now referred to as ‘crowd management’, and ‘riots’ are referred to as ‘protests’. Unit commanders and trainers should ensure that the issue of terminology is addressed in training sessions.

  • Training must be made a priority by unit commanders even if it comes at the expense of crime combating duties. In-service training was being neglected by the units, but with the restructuring it came to a total standstill. This means that members are becoming de-skilled. Fortunately the specialist crowd management skills have not been lost because the units are manned largely by people with ten to 20 years’ experience in this field. Nonetheless the skills base is eroding, and more seriously, incoming members are not receiving in-service training.

  • With regard to the use of firearms in crowd control, the police need better and more regular training, including training on when it is appropriate to use firearms and how they should be used. The same applies to metro police officers, who have tended to be over-zealous in their use of firearms.

Role of private security in 2010

  • The training of private security guards has to be made a priority in view of their important role in providing security for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Since this is not the responsibility of the SAPS, it should be coordinated at ministerial level.

  • The Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) has a vital role to play if the World Cup is to be a success. Private security companies have been tasked with an important role so proper training in crowd management and registration of stewards is essential. PSIRA must also ensure that security officers wear their registration cards.