POLICE READY TO TAKE OVER BORDER CONTROL
The police are ready to take over border control from the army, they said on Tuesday.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) is ready to take over the first phase of border control along the country's borders, police said on Tuesday.
Speaking at Middelput, a post on the Botswana border, the police's divisional commissioner of operational response, Arno Lamoer, said the first group of police would be deployed on Monday.
They were currently still receiving training at Upington in the Northern Cape.
The first deployment of police will be between Middelput and Nakop on the Botswana and Namibian borders.
The next phase of deployment would cover the whole Namibian border.
Lamoer told journalists the police units along the border would focus especially on combating international and organised crime.
He said the deployment of police would not only control the border, but would also empower police officers as they would receive additional training.
This includes intensive training in searching techniques, the identification of places of concealment, 4x4 training, relevant legislation and other skills.
The police's new duties along these borders in Botswana and Namibia form part of the entry/exit strategy prepared by the SAPS and the SA National Defence after a cabinet lekgotla in 2002.
That lekgotla decided to hand responsibility for border control from the SANDF to the SAPS.
Lamoer said that the police would control the entire border by March 2009.
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14 Septembre 2004 à 17:54 dans
- zsandf (anglais)
