THE heated debate that raged in Parliament should be heard as a clarion call for our police officers to be trained in effective riot control.
Last year the Ministry of Police introduced a policy document in which it decried the lack of training in riot control among police officers.
The document also called for the formation of public order units specifically trained to deal with situations such as the violent protest we saw at Marikana.
Besides dealing with the actual riots, the units will also be trained in intelligence gathering to avert violent protests.
After 1994 the newly elected government transformed the notorious apartheid-era riot squads into public order units. Unfortunately, the units were disbanded in 1996 because they were apparently too costly to maintain.
These units need to be re-introduced to avert the kind of bloodshed that occuured at Marikana.
Need for units
THE heated debate that raged in Parliament should be heard as a clarion call for our police officers to be trained in effective riot control.
Last year the Ministry of Police introduced a policy document in which it decried the lack of training in riot control among police officers.
The document also called for the formation of public order units specifically trained to deal with situations such as the violent protest we saw at Marikana.
Besides dealing with the actual riots, the units will also be trained in intelligence gathering to avert violent protests.
After 1994 the newly elected government transformed the notorious apartheid-era riot squads into public order units. Unfortunately, the units were disbanded in 1996 because they were apparently too costly to maintain.
These units need to be re-introduced to avert the kind of bloodshed that occuured at Marikana.
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