Preliminary steps towards reviving public order policing capacity were taken after the Tatane killing. In 2011 the names of the units were changed back to Public Order Police and crowd management was re-established as their primary responsibility.
During 2017/18 the number of units was also increased to 42, a 50% increase from the 28 units the previous. The fact that the number of Public Order Police personnel has increased far more modestly implies that this increase has been achieved largely by redistributing existing personnel. Protests mainly occur in poor communities. It is primarily politically marginal constituencies within these communities who benefit from better quality public order policing. In terms of the politics of policing, crime fighting is virtually always regarded as more important.
Where an inadequate number of members are deployed these manoeuvres cannot be performed. The sense of vulnerability of Public Order Police members also increases. This enhances the tendency for them to rely on rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades to manage crowd situations. Another consequence of the use of public order personnel in anti-crime operations is that regular in-service training, a precondition for maintaining the crowd-management skills of the units, is neglected.
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