Deputy National Police Commissioner Andre Pruis has assured South
Africans that the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be a success from a security
perspective.
"We are going to be ready for 2010. It's going to happen and it's going to be a success," he said.
Pruis, who will head up 2010 security, presented features of the
national police service's 2010 security plan at a crime statistics
seminar in Pretoria on Wednesday.
The security plan, which has been handed over to FIFA for final approval, includes the deployment of 41 092 police officers for the duration of the cup, over and above those already deployed for normal policing.
R665 million will be spent on the procurement of equipment such as water cannons, body armour, highway patrol vehicles and mobile police stations for the stadia.
The surveillance aspect of the security plan will see high risk areas being monitored on various tiers, via satellite, aircraft and land surveillance cameras.
Addressing skepticism around the ability of South Africa to host an incident-free World Cup, Pruis said, "What is this 2010 World Cup going to be, that the 1995 Rugby World Cup wasn't? [South Africa] has successfully hosted 17 major events with no major incidents."
"The security plan is ready. So…. lets play!" he added.
Senior Superintendant Vish Naidoo says that the procurement of resources in the build up to 2010 will assist in improving the capacity of the South African Police Service in the long term.
"The investment in staff and equipment for the World Cup is being done with foresight in terms of capacity building. The World Cup is an excellent platform for us to procure what we need for addressing crime and complimenting our initiatives well beyond 2010," he said.
