SA police officers deployed to France for Olympic duty

With two days until the opening of the 2024 Olympics, 15 South African Police Service (Saps) public order police members are off to France on Wednesday to perform a range of duties during the international event.

A send-off meeting was held on Tuesday with the police national commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, for the 15 police officers who will be deployed in France from 16 July to 11 August 2024.

According to the police, the South African Police Service (Saps) are the only law enforcement agency from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region participating in this skills-sharing opportunity related to crowd management control.

Officers have over 10 years of public order experience

The team, consisting of seven female and eight male officers, each has over 10 years of experience in the public-order police environment.

Their duties in France will include:

• Crowd management in various areas
• Patrolling public roads around the Olympic venues
• Providing information to visitors
• Patrolling public transport hubs such as train stations, metro stations, bus stations, and venues frequently used by spectators.
• Supporting police stations and mobile reception points (VOC) by welcoming visitors, facilitating procedures in victim statements, and providing translation assistance to French police and investigators.

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Team SA: Home away from home

Meanwhile, the Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, and South Africa’s Ambassador to France and Monaco, Nathi Mthethwa (the former minister), had a meet and greet breakfast on Tuesday morning ahead of UNESCO’s ‘Change the Game’ sports conference ministerial forum.

The aim of the event was to identify commitments from member states to strengthen the social impact of sport.

On Saturday, McKenzie, in partnership with the South African Sports Confederations and Olympic Committee, invited South Africans in France to attend the official opening of Ekhaya, South Africa’s home away from home, in Paris.

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