Questions over Special Task Force

THE performance of the Special Task Force (STF), the elite tactical unit of the police, in a “SWAT Challenge” has brought into question the preparedness of this unit to effectively deal with threats such as hostage-taking, highrisk crime and acts of terrorism.

The STF came 44th out of 49 competitors in a competition held in Dubai, UAE.

The UAE SWAT Challenge International Edition claims to be the first global challenge for special forces around the world. Competitors were as diverse as the Georgian Police and the Royal Thai Police.

Johan Burger, a consultant at the Institute for Security Studies, said the outcome illustrated a slow and steady decline in the task force.

He said that for a number of years there had been concern over the competence of the task force to tackle high-risk operations.

He said that in light of the killing of an STF member in KwaZulu-Natal earlier this month, their training became relevant.

Burger said he had received information that an audit of the STF was currently taking place, which he suggested was a positive sign.

“At least they recognise that there is a problem,” he said.

Vish Naidoo, spokesperson for the national commissioner of police, was shocked when told of the outcome of the SWAT Challenge.

Naidoo said this was the first time that the STF had taken part in such a competition, and he was not concerned about the overall functionality of the elite force.

He likened the outcome of the competition to Manchester United losing to an unknown football team.

“It happened, but is not indicative of any lack of competence.”

When asked about the audit, Naidoo insisted this was simply “another audit” that happened in the SAPS all the time.

Naidoo said the audit was in order to find solutions to possible problems, “not to say that there is a problem in the first place”.