From hooliganism to terrorism, SA set to tackle crime

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From its early days, crime at the Fifa World Cup has mostly been restricted to petty theft; from the tabloid adventures of a black and white mongrel named Pickles, who sniffed out the stolen Jules Rimet trophy at the 1966 World Cup in England, to players falling under the long arm of the law, most famously Bobby Moore — who was arrested in Columbia ahead of the 1970 Mexico World Cup for allegedly stealing a bracelet.

Unlike the other great quadrennial sporting extravaganza, the Olympics, the World Cup has been free from the spectre of terrorism. Terror first struck the sporting world at the 1972 Munich when members of Black September stormed the Israel team’s quarters and killed 11 Olympians. Twenty-four years later, at Atlanta, American far-right extremist Eric Robert Rudolph exploded three pipe bombs at the Centennial Olympic Park, killing two and injuring 111 people.
However, the terrorist attack on the Togo team in the African Cup of Nations in Angola this year and reports of an Al Qaeda threat to the Dutch and Danish national teams in addition to a domestic crime situation mean this summer’s World Cup in the Rainbow Nation will be the most tightly guarded event in history.
Speaking to this newspaper from Johannesburg, South African Police Service spokesperson Colonel Vishnoo Naidoo said that the agency with the help of Interpol would be ready to tackle anything from, “hooliganism to terrorism”.
With the highest per capita murder and rape cases according to a United Nations survey of mostly developed nations, and rampant reports of corruption, the task at hand is a challenging one. But, when it comes to hosting a successful and, more importantly, incident-free World Cup, nothing is being left to chance.
Sample this: SAPS officers underwent strenuous training in chemical, biological and even nuclear warfare. Select officers received an under-water explosives course from the United States Marine Corps. 8,500 officers were trained by the French Police in crowd management.
SAPS will have 44,000 officers at the World Cup. The total expenditure on upgrading police weaponry ran to Rand 650 million.
The force will deploy 39 helicopters to patrol cities and 100 BMW high-performance vehicles will patrol the highways. In the event of a terrorist strike, 10 mobile command vehicles will also be at the SAPS’ disposal.
“Terror threat reports are not being taken lightly. We are working closely with governments of the participating nations, intelligence agencies such as the FBI and in partnership with Interpol. We also have our own intelligence agency,” said Naidoo.
Interpol has also passed on a “dangerous and degenerate persons database”, to the South African authorities to restrict the entry of persons with a criminal record and football hooligans.
Terror, however, is not the only threat for the hosts. With an average of 50 murders a day, high rates of kidnappings, carjackings and sex crimes, South Africa will also have to fight the menace within.
Local organising committee chief Danny Jordaan dismissed fears of a security threat to the event.
“South Africa has hosted 147 sporting events since our return to the international arena, including events like the 1995 Rugby World Cup, 2003 Cricket World Cup, World T20 Championships in 2007 and last year’s Indian Premier League and all this without a single reported incident,” he said.
Naidoo also stated that of the over seven million tourists that visited the country last year only 21 reported criminal incidents and asked fans to come to the World Cup with an open mind.
“Crime is there in all societies. However, our track record proves we haven’t let it come in the way of successfully hosting an event. I’d advise tourists to take precautions when required. Don’t hesitate to talk to policemen before leaving the street and avoid isolated places. But, the one thing I’d really ask is to come with an open mind,” he said.