A total of 200 EMPD officers have been trained so far, with the last batch completing their training on April 17.
EMPD spokesman Wilfred Kgasago said Minister of Police Nathi Mthetwa emphasised the importance of having each and every officer of the law trained in crowd management.
“We are faced with invariably challenging situations when people involved in protests are not acting within the law or not observing the conditions as set out in their application in terms of the Gatherings Act,” said Kgasago.
He added that the training is to ensure that all law enforcement officers are skilled and capacitated in terms of effective crowd management.
The SAPS Academy, in Pretoria, commenced with this intensive three-week programme in early March, and the first group completed the rigorous training on March 28.
The project is on-going.
Mthethwa said: “The greatest challenge is for law enforcers to respond to serious provocation and intimidation, sometimes including public violence and with elements of criminality.
“Officers have to tackle those manifestations within the spirit and context of a community-orientated policing model and the Bill of Rights, which requires a realistic balance between acknowledging the rights of citizens to demonstrate, versus the police’s need to ensure peace and stability.”
Modules include learning about how the Constitution and the Bill of Rights impact on the police’s approach to crowd management.
The training is aligned with that which the SAPS officers working in Public Order Policing units receive.
The programme includes training on the 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.
