Gareth Wilson
ABOUT 80 chanting “protesters” gathered outside Port Elizabeth’s soccer stadium yesterday afternoon as crowd control police were put through their paces before the World Cup.
[weekendpost.co.za] More than 700 crowd control police were put through a mock riot scenario involving petrol bombs, smoke grenades and water cannon with groups of “protesters” given free rein to cause havoc in and around the stadium to test the police’s readiness.
The South African head of police training for the World Cup, General Gary Krueser, and French police commissioner Hugues Codaccioni were at the stadium to assess policemen’s reactions to riots.
“The aim was to see how members responded to different scenarios,” Krueser said. “I feel we are ready, but there are some scenes we will have to polish up.”
Nationally, Krueser said, there were 8500 crowd control management policemen who would all be put through their paces in similar exercises.
“No member is briefed on what the scenarios will be, giving us the opportunity to assess how they react to different situations,” he said.
French Captain Patrick Henki was heading the practical operational side of the simulation.
Mock rioters hurled petrol bombs and rocks at police and smacked the shields with pipes and planks in an attempt to break through the police barrier and gain entry to the stadium.
National police spokesman Vinesh Naidoo said a similar four- day exercise was being held simultaneously in KwaZulu-Natal.
“Interpol will also have its own offices as well as setting up a system to identify anyone who uses illegal or stolen passports.”
Naidoo said there would also be policemen from the 31 participating countries present at each event.
