Two hundred EMPD and SAPS officers recently underwent crowd control training, at the The SAPS Academy, in Pretoria.
The course focused on challenging situations and the skills require for effective crowd management, where officers are faced with crowds involved in protest action and are not acting within the law, and not observing the conditions as set out in the terms of the Gatherings Act.
Modules in the course included learning about how the Constitution and the Bill of Rights impact on the police’s approach to crowd management.
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.
Public order policing members being the only officers trained in crowd management is the thing of the past – henceforth, all SAPS and EMPD officers will undergo crowd management training.
The EMPD officers who participated in the three-week course came out well-equipped, with the know-how to protect those protesting peacefully and to tackle those who are out to cause mayhem during protests.
Training of platoon commanders was also a part of the programme.
The project is on-going.
“The greatest challenge is for law enforcers to respond correctly to serious provocation, intimidation, sometimes with 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”,” said Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa.
