Strong police presence for 2010
Themba Gadebe
14 May 2007South Africa will deploy 30 000 police officers specifically to ensure the safety of visitors to the country during the 2010 Fifa World Cup, SA Police Service (SAPS) divisional commander Arno Lamoer told delegates at the Tourism Indaba conference and exhibition in Durban on the weekend.
Speaking during a special debate on 2010, Lamoer said this meant there would be one police officer to every 10 foreign tourists for the duration of the event.
The government plans to increase the number of policemen and women in the country from the current 156 000 officers to more than 190 000 over the next three years.
These numbers will be bolstered further by South Africa's police reservist (volunteer) service, which has approximately 30 000 active members at present and is expected to grow to 80 000 by 2009, supported by an additional government budget of R260-million.
Lamoer added that the SAPS was busy strengthening its partnerships with the country's 300 000-strong private security industry, as well as with local communities.
Earlier this year, deputy national police commissioner Andre Pruis said 30 000 officers would be deployed for the World Cup across sectors including intelligence, VIP protection and security at hotels, stadiums, airports, roads and border posts.
"More than 30 000 [police officers] will concentrate on providing security to the actual events, officials and supporters during the competition," Pruis said. "There will be a dedicated team of officers in each sector.
"Police will also be patrolling roads between airports and hotels as well as roads between stadiums and hotels to ensure that visitors are protected at all times."
High-tech security for 2010
Last month, Pruis said the SAPS had been allocated R600-million on top of its annual budget to prepare for the World Cup, mostly to purchase equipment ranging from light aircraft to retractable
fencing.
Pruis, who was involved in security planning for the 1995 Rugby World Cup and the 2003 Cricket World Cup, told The Star that other equipment needed included mobile command centres, water cannons, crime scene trailers, new armour for vehicles and new tools for bomb squads.
According to The Star, the police intend to buy four Pilatus PC-12 light aircraft to patrol the skies above World Cup venues. The planes will be equipped with video cameras that send live footage to officers on the ground.
Each stadium will have one or two mobile police centres featuring high-tech monitoring equipment, enabling them to perform functions such as running identify checks.
SouthAfrica.info reporter and BuaNews
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