The South African Police Service's controversial handling of violent protests in Diepsloot has raised questions about the police's ability to manage the crowds expected at the World Cup.
Police used more than 1 000 rounds of rubber bullets, in some cases at close range, to disperse an angry crowd in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg, the Star reported on Monday. Residents went on the rampage following rumours that they were to be moved to Brits in the North West province.
The Mail & Guardian reported last year that police struggled to control xenophobic violence across the country after the specialised crime combating units (CCUs) tasked with public-order duties were halved in the 2006 SAPS restructuring.
At the time Bilkis Omar of the Institute for Security Studies ascribed inept police action to low morale and inadequate in-service training in crowd management techniques in a democratic country.
"Since the attacks, and with the realisation that the CCUs are not able to perform optimally with minimal capacity, members in some provinces have been recalled to the units to take up public-order duties," Omar told the M&G.
Source: Mail & Guardian
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