SECRET POLICE
S.A. City’s Scheme (N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) LONDON, February 20. For five months Johannesburg had had a secret police reserve of 500 corporation employees being trained to guard vital installations in the event of an emergency, “The Times’’ reported today. The newspaper’s Johannesburg correspondent said this was revealed in a statement by Brigadier B. L. Geldenbuys, district police commandant for the Witwatererand area.
It was reported that Colonel D. A. Bester, Durban district commandant, had advised the Durban Corporation to form a similar force, said the report. The report said the Johannesburg scheme started wtien the City Council setti a list of several hundred names to local' police headquarters. Men were called in and "vetted” and those accepted were sent to police stations in the suburbs. There they underwent medical examinations and weekly lectures began. Brigadier Geldenhuys said the municipal reservists had not yet been trained to the state where the majority were proficient with firearms, "The Times" reported. When thoroughly trained they could possibly be used for other duties, he said. Some large private concerns, presumably oil companies, were considering similar reserves, he added.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CII, Issue 30064, 23 February 1963, Page 5
Word Count
186SECRET POLICE Press, Volume CII, Issue 30064, 23 February 1963, Page 5
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