By Sbongile Nonyana
Fifteen SAPS public order police officers have been sent to France to help with crowd management and other tasks during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
The officers, all with over 10 years’ experience, will be in France until 11 August.
The team includes seven women and eight men and is the only law enforcement group from the SADC region participating in the skill-sharing activity.
France and South Africa’s crowd management partnership started in February 2009, with French law enforcement officials training SAPS officers.
Since 2010, the French have visited South Africa to ensure the SAPS follows proper crowd control protocols.
The SAPS team will undergo orientation in France before the games begin.
Their duties will include patrolling public roads around Olympic venues, providing information to visitors, patrolling public transport hubs, supporting police stations, helping with visitor reception, facilitating victim statements and providing translation assistance to French police.
SAPS’s national commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, attended the send-off meeting on Tuesday and wished the officers well as they travelled to Paris on Wednesday.
“Our public order police officers have been involved in the policing of several world-class events, including the Brics summit and Agoa, which took place without incidents and disruptions,” he said.
“We are confident that this opportunity will allow members to come back to share and transfer skills and knowledge to other members, which will assist us in enhancing the policing of large gatherings and crowds.”
Pictured above: The SAPS members heading to France.
Source: SAPS
