World Cup: South African police ready for anything

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Rubber bullets. Summary trials. Water cannons. Freezing prison cells on train cars.

Authorities in Cape Town, South Africa, site of England’s second match in next month’s World Cup, say that’s what awaits soccer hooligans in their town. And the hope is the advance warning will keep everyone on their best behavior.

‘People might say we are treating them like cattle, but if they behave like animals then we will give no quarter,’ Rob Young, the police chief in Cape Town, told the Sunday Times.

England opens play in the World Cup against the United States on June 12 in Rustenburg, about 2 1/2 hours by car from Johannesburg. After that match, South Africa organizers expect many of the 50,000 to 80,000 followers of England -- by far the largest delegation of any of the 31 visiting teams -- to flood Cape Town ahead of the June 18 match with Algeria. And that’s when the trouble could begin.

To which Young challenges, ‘Try us.’

‘The message I sent to any England fans thinking about starting trouble is simple,’ Young told the British newspaper. ‘We police the Third World every single day. Do you think we are intimidated by a bunch of drunken boys in football jerseys?’

British fans are not the only ones on South Africa’s radar, however. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the host country’s home affairs minister, said screening programs are already in place to identify potential troublemakers from Germany and Argentina which, along with England, are the nations whose fans are expected to pose the greatest threat to the peace.

Those causing problems will be herded into train cars specially fitted with cells -- but without heat, despite the fact that freezing temperatures are predicted. Held 10 prisoners to a cell, many will be tried on the spot, the Sunday Times said, then transported overnight to other parts of the country.

In addition to acting as a deterrent, South African authorities concede the draconian crackdown could also prevent overcrowding in a prison system that already houses nearly 165,000 inmates in facilities designed for less than 116,000. And it will also prevent foreigners from being confined in prisons where HIV and gang rape are said to be common.

In Rustenburg, near where the England team will be housed, South Africa will have two ‘justice buses’ -- mobile police stations with holding cells and on-board magistrates courts -- on patrol. Suspects rounded up will be tried and could be convicted within minutes after their arrest.

South African police have also purchased 40 extra helicopters, 100 high-speed BMW police cars and large water cannons from the U.S., while the French gendarmerie have been training local police in crowd-control techniques. Undercover British police will help gauge the mood of England fans.

But South Africa’s main deterrent, Young said, will be brute force and rubber bullets.

‘Football hooligans might come here thinking they are tough, but we are the toughest gang in town,’ he said. ‘If you stare us down, you will face plastic bullets and water cannons. If that doesn’t stop you, we will haul you into prison trains.

‘Look out the window here in Cape Town across to some of the most violent communities on Earth. That is our beat, our backyard. That should tell you how tough we are.’

-- Kevin Baxter in London