SAPS` COSTLY RESTRUCTURING: A Review of Public Order Policing Capacity

This conclusion chapter of a 2007 monograph evaluates the capacity of the South African Police Service (SAPS) Crime Combating Units (CCUs) to manage public order, specifically regarding protest marches and the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup.

• While public order policing has seen improvements in respect for human rights since the start of democracy, the CCUs have suffered a severe erosion in their skills maintenance, distribution, and overall size.
• The crisis currently facing crowd management is attributed to the 2006 restructuring of the SAPS CCUs. The author recommends that SAPS management reassess this restructuring and redeploy CCUs to the previous seven policing areas, making them accountable to provincial police offices.
• The police crowd management component is expected to handle the 2010 FIFA World Cup based on past performance with international events in South Africa, provided they are sufficiently resourced. However, the event is expected to attract additional protest marches and presents unique international soccer event dynamics that will strain CCU capacity.

APA

Omar, B. (2007). SAPS` COSTLY RESTRUCTURING: A Review of Public Order Policing Capacity. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/topics/conflict-prevention-and-analysis/20-may-2008-iss-feature-xenophobia-in-south-africa/01-oct-2007-monograph-no-138-saps-costly-restructuring-a-review-of-public-order-policing-capacity-bilkis-omar/chapter-9-conclusion

Chicago

Omar, Bilkis. SAPS` COSTLY RESTRUCTURING: A Review of Public Order Policing Capacity. Institute for Security Studies, 2007. https://issafrica.org/topics/conflict-prevention-and-analysis/20-may-2008-iss-feature-xenophobia-in-south-africa/01-oct-2007-monograph-no-138-saps-costly-restructuring-a-review-of-public-order-policing-capacity-bilkis-omar/chapter-9-conclusion.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Omar |first1=Bilkis |title=SAPS` COSTLY RESTRUCTURING: A Review of Public Order Policing Capacity |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=October 2007 |url=https://issafrica.org/topics/conflict-prevention-and-analysis/20-may-2008-iss-feature-xenophobia-in-south-africa/01-oct-2007-monograph-no-138-saps-costly-restructuring-a-review-of-public-order-policing-capacity-bilkis-omar/chapter-9-conclusion |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{omar2007saps, author = {Omar, Bilkis}, title = {{SAPS` COSTLY RESTRUCTURING: A Review of Public Order Policing Capacity}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2007}, month = oct, url = {https://issafrica.org/topics/conflict-prevention-and-analysis/20-may-2008-iss-feature-xenophobia-in-south-africa/01-oct-2007-monograph-no-138-saps-costly-restructuring-a-review-of-public-order-policing-capacity-bilkis-omar/chapter-9-conclusion}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }