After a two-day workshop on safety and security plans for the 2010 World Cup, stakeholders expressed confidence in the host nation, reports Inas Mazhar Since safety and security is one of the most important issues and a challenge in particular to South Africa as it aims to ensure a safe and secure World Cup, FIFA organised a one of its kind security workshop at the Home of FIFA in Zurich. It was the first time in the history of FIFA World Cups that a security workshop took place ahead of the World Cup tournament, probably because there has been no need for it as there were no concerns regarding security surrounding the previous host nations as much as it is in South Africa. FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke said 90 security officials were invited to take part in the two-day workshop. In a round table discussion around the World Cup last month in Zurich, Valcke had told reporters that this time, FIFA felt it was necessary to brief everyone with all security plans to protect the World Cup family. "Everyone needs to feel confident. We must have a safe and secure environment for everyone. There is a commitment from the South Africa government to FIFA and from FIFA to everyone involved in the World Cup including teams, players, referees, media and staff." Valcke said South Africa had increased its budget for security to $300,000. FIFA President Joseph Blatter has been South Africa's biggest supporter, especially with regards to security. He has tried to allay security concerns among the media, the participating nations and the fans and says he has full trust and confidence in South Africa. After the workshop he said he was satisfied, not only with the plans and guarantees, which he is "definitely sure about," but with the positive feedback from the participants and called them to put their trust in South Africa and the organisers. "The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was well organised so now it is time for the whole world to put its trust in South Africa and believe in their ability to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Security is a matter for the government, and we have received adequate guarantees in this regard, so there is no reason to doubt them. The FIFA World Cup is about enjoyment, and I am convinced that we will have a wonderful festival in South Africa," Blatter told reporters after the workshop. During the workshop, the South African Police Service (SAPS) presented the South African government's security plans for the 2010 World Cup to the police representatives and chiefs of security of the participating countries. The discussions, which also included representatives of FIFA, the 2010 World Cup Organising Committee in South Africa, the South African government and INTERPOL, saw a very fruitful exchange of information, and all stakeholders expressed confidence in the plans. The South African National Commissioner of Police Bhekokwakhe Cele, who provided an overview of the event security, law enforcement and national security plans, added: "Today everybody agrees that this will be a wonderful event. The security personnel in place will be supporting teams, fans and all participants to make sure that they enjoy a fantastic event. We have received very positive feedback from the delegations representing the teams and we will liaise with them to ensure that their security needs are taken care of. We are sure that this preparation will also leave a legacy in all areas of security for the country after the competition." Representing INTERPOL Secretary-General Ronald Noble at the security workshop, INTERPOL Director of Police Operational Support Services Brian Minihane said: "The workshop has provided an important platform for the law enforcement community worldwide to review and enhance security planning and coordination in the run-up to the FIFA World Cup, during which INTERPOL will be providing South Africa's police force with key operational support on the ground." "We are very happy that this two-day workshop has helped to tackle all the issues that might previously have been unclear in relation to security. I am now entirely confident that we have all the ingredients for a safe and successful World Cup and that we will enjoy it," said Andy Holt, a specialist on football matters for England's Association of Chief Police Officers. "We are very grateful to the teams, the police and the security representatives for their support and cooperation in such an important matter, and for their confidence in us. We have successfully hosted other great sporting events in recent years, including the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and we are certain that this will be the case again in 2010," said Organising Committee CEO Danny Jordaan. In December last year, during the FIFA World Cup final draw that took place in Cape Town, South Africa, Al-Ahram Weekly spoke to Andres Pruis, deputy commissioner of SAPS, about the latest developments in the country's preparations and readiness in terms of security. "Prior to the World Cup, we hosted several international events here which were all secured and no serious incidents were reported," said Pruis. "For football related events, we have so far hosted three draw events in the past two years -- two for the World Cup, the preliminary in Durban, the final in Cape Town and the Confederations Cup draw in Johannesburg, and there were no problems. Then we hosted the Confederations Cup last June and again it was incident- free. Of course there have been some minor reports of wallet thefts, but they are not major incidents. Pruis confirmed the government's preparations for safe and secure events. "The SAPS has spent around $64 million on the deployment of 41,000 officers especially for the World Cup. This includes 31,000 permanent members and 10,000 police reservists. The recruited officers have already received event specific training in addition to 120 SAPS members who received an intensive train- the- trainer crowd control management programme presented by the French national police force. These members were tasked with training 9,000 of their colleagues in crowd control management and they are all now ready for the World Cup," Pruis said. The SAPS has been on a massive recruitment drive during the past two years to increase general police numbers by 55,000 to over 190,000 by 2009, and to 200,000 by 2010. By the end of 2008, 44,000 new members have been recruited. However, only a small fraction of these will be deployed specifically for the event. The vast majority of the police deployed for the World Cup will be trained officers with experience in major events and crowd control. The number of police reservists is also being doubled ahead of the World Cup, from 45,000 to 100,000, meaning that by 2010 South Africa will have a significantly larger and well trained police service." Pruis added that the participating countries competing in the event were contacted to send their own specially trained police officers to assist with language and cultural differences and to support the SAPS "and they have agreed to share the experience with us. Each country will send 20 of their best security officers with their delegations. The point is that we need those officers. They will help us a lot to understand and react to any sudden incidents that occur which we might misunderstand and therefore react incorrectly. For example, the reaction of some crowds to a victory or a defeat, to us as South Africans might be dangerous or strange but is normal to the officer of the same nationality and vice versa. What an English, American, Brazilian or Italian officer sees as normal, a South African finds unsafe and precarious, and the opposite. So, the existence of international officers is important to help us in reading the vibes of the fans. Those officers will be circulated with their team, venues, play grounds, command centers, fan parks and streets." South Africa will also be working closely with international agencies to gather intelligence. As for infrastructure and equipment, the SA government spent some $66 million on procuring special equipment, including crowd- control equipment, crime scene trailers, unmanned aircraft, six Robinson R44 Raven II helicopters, specialised body armour and 300 mobile cameras. The SAPS is also investing in 10 mobile command centres at a cost of around $600,000 each. "These centres, which will largely be based at the match venues, can be moved around if need be, and will feature high tech monitoring equipment which will be able to receive live footage from airplanes and other cameras. These investments will continue to assist the police in their crime fighting efforts long after the World Cup is over," Pruis said. Pruis said there will be 2010 police stations within close proximity to each of the stadiums, as well as crime-investigation trams and special courts to investigate and deal with event-related crimes 24 hours, seven days a week, in addition to a 24-hour multilingual hotline to assist visitors requiring police or medical services. There will also be stress on border security at ports of entry, including South Africa's land, sea and air borders. A regional (Southern African Development Community) security plan has been finalised and cooperation with several countries has been initiated. Border security and sea and air security strategies are in place. There is also a focus on route security, on the roads between host cities and from airports into the cities. The host cities are to be divided into sections for the World Cup, with teams patrolling the sections which will include FIFA headquarters, hotels, other accommodation establishments, the stadiums, fan parks, restaurants and tourist venues. Thus far the joint security forces have passed several simulations and training exercises to grind their skills, including air and maritime defence and CBRN (chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear) simulation exercises in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein and the Gauteng Province. During the past year, a public awareness campaign on spectator codes of conduct at stadiums was launched," Pruis said.
