Abstract
From the heavy-handed crowd control under apartheid to the abusive actions of the Internal Stability Division during the early 1990s, public order policing in South Africa has been steeped in controversy. However, things changed after 1994 when this component of the police was radically transformed. With a decline in demand for their specialised services, and a need for more resources, the units have been reorganised into Area Crime Combating Units (ACCUs). While no doubt helping to reduce crime, it is unclear whether the SAPS still has the capacity to manage the increasing number of volatile crowd situations.
Highlights
South Africa’s transition to democracy in 1994 brought about many changes
From the heavy-handed crowd control under apartheid to the abusive actions of the Internal Stability Division during the early 1990s, public order policing in South Africa has been steeped in controversy
Given the role played by the Internal Stability Units (ISUs) under the previous government, these units were in need of a major overhaul
Summary
From the heavy-handed crowd control under apartheid to the abusive actions of the Internal Stability Division during the early 1990s, public order policing in South Africa has been steeped in controversy. The growing number and intensity of service delivery protests and riots, and the poor handling of some of these events, have highlighted the need to reassess the effectiveness of our public order policing capacity In their current form – the Area Crime Combating Units (ACCUs) – the key question is whether South Africa has the capacity to manage public events and protest marches, when they are accompanied by violence or the threat of violence. The SAP management had decided that the police and the army (which had been providing limited assistance in dealing with public unrest), needed to concentrate on their primary functions, namely crime prevention and defence respectively This led to the formation of the Internal Stability Division (ISD) in 1992. Operational sense, given the shortage of capacity within the police and the escalating crime problem facing the country at the time.[21]
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