THE South African Police Service (SAPS) are gearing up for the 2010 Soccer World Cup after announcements this week that special units and courts would be prepped and ready to deal with 2010 specific cases.
Senior Superintendent Vishnu Naidoo of the SAPS said that temporary task teams were already being formed in time for the 2009 Confederations Cup which will test the SAPS’ ability to cope with security during a major event. The teams would be reviewed after the 2009 event, in time for 2010 Soccer World Cup.
The idea behind these operations is to ensure that cases are dealt within the time frame of the World Cup and not after foreign visitors involved have returned to their home countries. Naidoo said this would reduce the cost of foreigners having to return to the country after the event to investigate and solve cases opened during the World Cup.
In addition, an increased police presence of 55 000 officials is expected for the tournament and numerous training exercises have been taking place countrywide in an effort to showcase South Africa’s readiness for the event.
The projects will hopefully set a positive spin on SA Tourism’s ceo Moeketsi Mosola’s remarks last week that tourists fear South Africa as a destination because of high crime levels.
SA Tourism cites many projects that have started up as a result over safety and security concerns surrounding 2010 including a tourism helpline, programme to reduce crime levels in Gauteng and a comprehensive Tourism Safety and Security Strategy developed by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism in the Western Cape.
