Special Task Force (SAPS)

The South African Police Service Special Task Force (SAPS STF) is the special operations element of the South African Police Service (SAPS).

The STF has a formidable reputation in counterterrorism and insurgency and hostage rescue. Unlike most civilian/police counterterrorist units around the world, the special task force is also trained to conduct military special operations and has done so on many occasions, operating with their military counterparts, especially during the long 30-year border war.

History
After a hostage siege at the Israeli embassy on 28 April 1975 which became known as the Fox Street Siege the South African government decided to establish a special police unit to deal with situations such as hostage situations.

In 1976 the Task force was activated. The Task Force falls under operational control of the Division: Operational Response Services and is responsible for dealing with all high-risk operations, such as hostage situations on land, sea and air, including rescue-related operations.

Known Operations
25 January 1980 – The Siege of Volkskas Bank, Silverton, Pretoria. Four terrorists, armed with AK47 assault weapons and hand grenades, held the Volkskas Bank in Silverton, Pretoria under siege. They threatened to kill the hostages if all their demands were not met. In the ensuing release operation, Special Task Force members killed all the terrorists, while hostage casualties were caused by hostile small-arms fire and a hand grenade explosion.

25 – 30 January 1981 – Laingsburg flood disaster. The Special Task Force lead the search – and rescue operations. 47 bodies were recovered in 5 days. The Special Task Force also rendered disaster relief assistance to the local population.

30 July 1988 – Hostage situation- Goedemoed prison. Using sharpened objects, 22 prisoners attacked the prison warders at Goedemoed Prison. One of the warders failed to escape and was taken hostage in a cell. The hostage was stabbed twice in the neck while one of the warders was trying to negotiated with the prisoners. The SAPS Special Task Force was called in to assist in the matter. Nine members of the Special Task Force were flown to Goedemoed Prison. The Special Task Force freed the hostage with the assistance of the negotiator (warder) and the Reaction Unit of Bloemfontein. The two prisoners who held the warder hostage, were wounded, one of them fatally.

14 September 1988 – The Bus Capture at Lesotho. The Pope visited Maseru on the above date. Four members of the Lesotho Freedom Alliance hijacked a bus transporting 74 passengers at the British Embassy. The SAPS Special Task Force was called in to assist in the matter. When negotiations failed, the terrorists began shooting at the bystanders in the British Consulate. They then attempted to use the bus to ram through the embassy gates. The Special Task Force stormed the bus, killing three terrorists and capturing one. They disarmed an improvised booby trap (explosive device). 17 hostages who were injured by hostile gunfire were stabilised by Special Task Force medics.

13 December 1989 – Body recovery at Selby Mine, Johannesburg. Two members of the Special Task Force assisted the Brixton Murder and Robbery Unit in recovering a corpse from the Selby mineshaft, Johannesburg. The corpse was found at a depth of 141 meters. Obstructions, bad construction and the threat of toxic gases created additional hazards. Two members of the Special Task Force were individually lowered into the shaft, but were forced to return to the surface owing to respiratory difficulties. One member was given oxygen apparatus and lowered down the shaft again. After securing the corpse to a rope, he was hoisted to the surface. Both members were awarded the South African Police Cross for Bravery for their unselfish deed.

11 January 1993 – Hostage situation in Walmer, Port Elizabeth. A Black ex-defence force member took a woman hostage and held her at gunpoint. As negotiations failed, the Special Task Force entered the building and incapacitated the captor with 2 shots. The hostage was not hurt.

4 July 1993 – Hijacked Fokker FU28 at Jan Smuts International Airport. A Fokker FU28 airliner of Royal Swazi Airlines with 21 passengers on board was hijacked and diverted to Jan Smuts Airport, near Johannesburg. The SAPS Special Task Force was summoned to the scene and 22 members were dispatched to the airport to contain the situation and release the hostages. After being informed by the psychologist on the scene that the hijacker was emotionally unstable and irrational and a threat to the hostages, the Special Task Force was given the command to recapture the aircraft and to release the hostages. The hijacker was wounded in the head during the storming of the aircraft. A hostage was wounded in the shoulder and the pilot in the leg. No casualties were sustained by members of the Special Task Force.

10 July 1994 – Arrest of Weapon Smugglers at Nduma. Weapons are regularly smuggled from Mozambique to South Africa via the Kruger National Park which borders on Mozambique. The Organized Crime Unit and Firearm Tracing Unit requested the Special Task Force to be of assistance by way of observation duties of specified areas which had been identified by informers as areas which the smugglers readily use. 10 members of the Special Task Force were deployed to the Nduma area in the Kruger National Park where they established observation posts. The operation was successful and three (3) Mozambicans were traced and arrested. The members seized 30 AK47 rifles and three (3) SAM-7 ground-to-air missiles.

27 October 1994 – Hostage Situation and Attempted Suicide at Telkom Offices, Pretoria. A man armed with a firearm and was upset about the non-payment of his salary, entered the Telkom Distribution offices where he worked and took a number of people hostage. The hostage negotiators and 21 members of the Special Task Force were deployed to the scene. After prolonged negotiations, all the hostages were released but the man refused to surrender and threatened to take his own life. The Special Task Force were still in position and ready to take action while the negotiations with the man continued. While the negotiations were taking place, the man decided, without warning, to move to another office. The man was overwhelmed in the passage after his attention had been drawn by a stun grenade and he was disarmed. Neither the man or the people who disarmed him were injured in the incident.

15 June 1994 – Rescue Operation Salu Building, Pretoria. 28 members of the Special Task Force raced to the city center to assist with a rescue operation. A building with a number of floors was on fire and personnel working in the building above the floors which were on fire, were trapped. Members of the Special Task Force, SAPS Air Wing and SA Air Force using helicopters rescued people from the top of the building. Other members used roping equipment to evacuate the trapped people to safety. Only a small number of people were treated for minor burns and smoke inhalation.

1 March 1995 – Hostage Situation Bella Vista, Johannesburg. A man took his fiancee and her little daughter hostage after a family dispute. The hostage negotiators and six members of the Special Task Force were deployed to the scene. During negotiations, the man continually held a knife against the throat of his fiancee and also sodomised her in the presence of her daughter. The child was also ill-treated by the man while his fiancee had to watch. A tactical release of the hostages was the only way out. One member of the Special Task Force was employed as a sniper and during the tactical release of the hostages, the man was fatally wounded. A firearm was found in the room where the man had held the woman and child hostage.

27 November 1995 – Kidnapping and Hostage Situation, Vereeniging. The Intelligence Service and CID of Secunda and Vereeniging requested the assistance of the Special Task Force in an operation to locate the whereabouts of a man who had been kidnapped and was being held hostage. Information at hand was that the man had been kidnapped by 3 men and was being held hostage in a Daleside, Vereenigng house. 9 members of the Special Task Force were made available for the operation and the kidnapped man was released uninjured during a tactical release. All three men were arrested without a single shot being fired. 5 fire-arms which had been used by the hostage takers were seized.

6 August 1995 – Hostage Situation Hollywood Café, Sunnyside. A man fleeing from the SAPS on 6 August 1995, took a woman hostage in the Hollywood Café, Esselen Street, Sunnyside. The Special Task Force was summoned to the scene by Radio Control after which the hostage taker was arrested and the hostage tactically released. The man was found guilty of armed robbery, kidnapping, pointing of a firearm and possession of an unlicensed firearm.

24 to 25 February 1995 – Hostage Situation, St Albans Prison – Port Elizabeth. 22 members of the Special Task Force were summoned to St Alban's Prison, Port Elizabeth where approximately 105 prisoners had taken a prison warder as hostage. During the night of 24 – 25 February 1995, after prolonged negotiations the prison warder was released after a tactical release lasting 20 seconds. One hostage taker was fatally wounded. One injured and the other prisoners were arrested. The hostage was released without injuries. Two firearms and a M26 hand grenade were seized after the operation.

12 August 1996 – Hostage Situation 34 Baccus Street, Irene. On 12 August 1996 a man took a year old baby hostage at 34 Baccus Street, Irene. The Special Task Force deployed 21 members to the scene. During negotiations, snipers were deployed in the vicinity. The snipers observed that the man held the baby in front of him with a knife to its throat all the time. The hostage taker only moved a curtain occasionally to see what was going on outside, but never let go of the baby. Negotiations which had lasted a long time did not succeed and it was decided on a tactical release of the baby by members of the Special Task Force. During the tactical release, both snipers fired simultaneously, fatally wounding the hostage taker. The baby was safely released without any injuries.

22 May 1997 – Hostage Situation Nando's, Johannesburg. Three robbers trying to rob Nando's on the corner of Cromhout and Kimberley Streets, Johannesburg were cornered by members of the SAPS Johannesburg after being alerted by members of the public. The robbers took the employees of Nando's hostage. A gun-battle between the robbers and the SAPS took place during which two members of the SAPS were wounded. 19 members of the Special Task Force were deployed. During the release of the hostages, the three robbers were wounded and arrested. No members of the public were injured.

25 June 2006 – The Jeppestown Massacre, Jeppestown, central Johannesburg. After a robbery, 23 robbers were followed by a police helicopter to a safe house. 4 SAPS members were murdered and 8 robbers were killed in the siege before the remaining 15 gang members surrendered. Members of the Special Task Force were deployed to assist the SAPS in ending the siege.

10 August – 20 September 2012 – Marikana Miners' Strike, Rustenburg. Members of the Special Task Force were deployed to the Lonmin owned mine in the Marikana area after 2 police official, 2 security guards and 4 miners were murdered by striking miners between 12 and 14 August. On 16 August, after storming police forces with traditional weapons and small arms, 34 miners were shot dead by SAPS members and another 78 miners were injured. This became known as the Marikana Massacre.

24 November 2012 – Protea Coin cash compound, Robertsville, western Johannesburg. At around 17:00, the Task Force confronted a group of 20 heavily armed cash in transit robbers in a foiled robbery, after the robbers were cornered and opened fire on the members of the Task Force, they returned fire killing 7 and wounding 9 of the robbers. None of the Task Force members were injured in the shootout.

Recruitment and training
Prospective members have to be at least 21 years old and must have served at least two years in the South African Police Service. The volunteer must also show certain personal traits such as: All Task Force applicants are volunteers and have to comply with stringent physical requirements before being admitted to the basic training and selection course. The basic training course is twenty-six weeks long and includes weapons, rural and urban combat as well as basic parachute training courses. Compulsory advanced courses include special skills such as diving, VIP protection, explosives and medical training. The total initial training period is nine months, but completing all the requisite advanced courses to become a full-fledged Special Task Force operational member may last up to three years.
 * maturity
 * leadership skills
 * sound judgment.

Although membership of the Special Task Force open to both male and female SAPS members, female operatives undergo a separate selection course.

Current
In 2004 it was reported that the SAPS STF may have lost nearly 60 percent of its active members to private companies recruiting security personnel to work in Iraq.

As of 2004 with the implementation of affirmative action policy and a special course for females, the STF welcomed their first female operators in its ranks.

In 2010 top officers of the unit were sent to the United States to brush up on their crisis response skills.

Equipment
STF officers are armed with Heckler & Koch USP and USP Compact pistols as sidearms and Heckler and Koch MP5N as standard SMG.

Heavier arms such as Vektor R5 carbine, FN FAL assault rifle, McMillan Tac-50, Accuracy International Arctic Warfare and Steyr 7.62 sniper rifles, shotguns, FN MAG, M2 Browning machine guns and grenade launchers are issued to STF officers depend on the situation.