A group of Ekurhuleni Metro Police (EMPD) officers completed their course in crowd management.
Senior Superintendent Wilfred Kgasago, spokesman for EMPD, said all metro police members eventually had to undergo the intensive three-week programme.
The first group completed the rigorous training on 28 March 2014.
This gives the EMPD 200 well-equipped officers with the know-how of protecting peaceful protesters and how to tackle those who cause mayhem during protests.
Kgasago said the greatest challenge for law enforcers was to respond to serious provocation, intimidation, public violence and with elements of criminality.
The training is aligned with the police working in its public order policing units.
The modules of the course included learning about the impact of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights on the police’s approach to crowd management.
The programme also includes training on legal instruments affecting crowd management, with particular emphasis on the Regulation of Gatherings Act, the Dangerous Weapons Act and use of force prescripts, the importance of and approaches to negotiation tactics and strategy and tactics to be used in crowd management.
