28 September 2010
A group of police officers from South Africa’s elite Special Task Force are currently on a five-week course in the United States aimed at honing their skills in handling high-risk confrontations and possible terror situations.
According to the US Embassy, the course teaches officers how to use a number of means to deal with such situations, while focusing on minimum force and the protection of human life.
The police officers will take part in hands-on outdoor firearms seminars and raid and assault simulations, and receive training in crisis response skills for urban environments.
The training is part of the US State Department’s Anti-terrorism Assistance Programme, which has trained more than 100 000 foreign law enforcement officers from 160 countries since its launch in 1983.
“This training recognises the calibre of our elite Special Task Force officers, and also the solid relationship law enforcement in South Africa has with the United States,” said the commander of the South African Police Service’s Special Task Force, Brigadier Lucky Mkhwanazi.
US Charge d’Affaires Helen La Lime described the United States’ partnership with the SA Police Service as “robust”, adding: “We look forward to pursuing more partnership opportunities.”
Source: BuaNews
