On a quest to serve and protect as per their oath, a team of 15 SAPS officers have been deployed to the Olympic games in Paris, France.
Made up of eight men and seven women, the team is headed to perform a range of duties such as crowd management, public safety and supporting police stations and mobile reception points. Each individual is said to have at least 10 years of experience in the public-order police environment.
National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola believes that this is an opportunity for the officers to part on the skills and knowledge they acquire in France on to the rest of the police force, specifically where crowd management is involved.
#sapsHQ The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), General Fannie Masemola has wished fifteen police officers from the Public Order Police (POPs) unit well as they travel to Paris this evening to assist in performing policing functions during the 2024… pic.twitter.com/kqn9BWj4q3
— SA Police Service ?? (@SAPoliceService) July 24, 2024
“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 incident and disruptions. 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.”
National Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe explained that this trip was funded by the French government. “This is in relation to crowd management control capabilities following a request from the French Government for members from various security officers including SAPS to provide support to its Interior Security in their mission to ensure a safe and secure event,” she said.
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