View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by South East Academic Libraries System (SEALS) A HISTORY OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE IN PORT ELIZABETH: 1913-1956 THESIS submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Rhodes University by Kelvin Innes Watson September 1999 i CONTENTS Page Abstract iv Acknowledgements v List of Tables vi List of Figures vi List of Illustrations vi List of Abbreviations vii 1 INTRODUCTION 1 2 RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE: 1913-1956 16 Introduction 16 Training of Recruits 18 Recruitment Campaigns 31 Recruitment Criteria 45 Social Profile of Recruits 51 Conclusion 55 3 THE CONDITIONS OF SERVICE OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE IN PORT ELIZABETH: 1913-1956 57 Introduction 57 Remuneration and Career Prospects 58 Clothing 66 Weaponry 69 Medical Care 71 Accommodation 72 Marital Restrictions 76 Recreational Activities 80 The Politics of Language 83 Day-to-Day Working Conditions 88 Public Image 91 Conclusion 96 4 GENERAL ORGANISATIONAL ASPECTS OF POLICING IN PORT ELIZABETH: 1913-1956 98 Introduction 98 Organisation of Policing pre-1913 100 ii General Organisational Developments: 1913-1956 Immediate Post-1913 Changes 103 Impact of World War I on SAP 104 PECC Attempts to Increase SAP Garrison in Post-War years 108 Developments in Mechanisation and Technology 109 PECC Resistance to Part-Financing of SAP 112 Impact of World War II on Police Organisation 113 Organisational Developments during Post-War 1945 118 Restructuring of No. 14 Police District 118 Impact of Political Unrest on Police Organisation after 1952 123 Further Restructuring of No. 14 Police District: 1955 123 Creation of Two Police Districts in Port Elizabeth: 1956 124 Conclusion 126 5 SPATIAL AND FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS OF POLICING IN PORT ELIZABETH’S POLICE DISTRICTS: 1913-1956 128 Introduction 128 Organisation of Policing in Central Area 130 Baakens Street Police District 130 Walmer Police District 133 Mount Road Police District 138 Organisation of Policing in Northern Area 142 New Brighton Police District 142 Korsten Police District 159 New Law Courts Police District 163 Conclusion 165 6 ROUTINE CIVIL POLICING IN PORT ELIZABETH: 1913-1956 167 Introduction 167 Policing Common Crime 168 Traffic Control 181 Policing the ‘nuisance’ Factor 183 Stray Livestock 184 Beggars 185 Hawkers 188 Vagrants 189 Anti-Social Behaviour 191 Policing Juvenile Delinquency and Gangsterism 195 Conclusion 203 7 SOCIALLY OPPRESSIVE POLICING IN PORT ELIZABETH: 1913-1956 205 Introduction 205 Location, Labour and Influx Control Regulations 207 iii Curfew Regulations 213 Poll tax 219 Beer Brewing and Illegal Liquor 221 Abuse of Police Powers 234 Conclusion 240 8 POLICING POLITICAL AND INDUSTRIAL ACTION IN PORT ELIZABETH: 1913-1956 242 Introduction 242 Anti-German riots: 1915 244 The 1920 Riots 248 Policing Right-Wing Movements 256 Laundry Strike: 1948 260 Bus Boycott: 1949 263 The 1952 Defiance Campaign 265 The New Brighton Riots: 1952 269 Aftermath of New Brighton Riots 274 Conclusion 278 9 CONCLUSION 280 APPENDICES 287 Appendix A: District Commandants of Port Elizabeth, 1913-1956 287 Appendix B: SAP Commissioners, 1913-1960 290 BIBLIOGRAPHY 283 iv ABSTRACT This thesis investigates the policing activities of the South African Police (SAP) in Port Elizabeth from the formation of the SAP in 1913 to the creation of two separate police districts in the city in 1956. It begins with the recruitment and training of police personnel, outlining the difficulty in obtaining sufficient white recruits for most of the period while at the same time stressing the ease with which the Force was able to obtain black recruits. The preponderance of Afrikaner policemen serving in Port Elizabeth from the 1920s onwards is made clear, as is the para-military nature of the SAP, which was maintained and reinforced as a result of training methods and the process of socialisation. As state servants, police personnel were expected to serve loyally and obediently a state becoming increasingly repressive towards its black citizens. Generally inadequate conditions of service remained the norm throughout the period yet the SAP’s commitment to the state never wavered, bar one isolated, short-lived incidence. The administration and functioning of policing in Port Elizabeth is explored by focussing on specific organisational features pertinent to the city and the changes wrought by the police hierarchy to deal with the city’s demographic and spatial expansion. The SAP tended to employ three different forms of policing in the city as a result of its apartheid-driven agenda which compelled it to differentiate between the various population groups in terms of maintaining law and order. The privileged white community experienced routine, civil policing whereas the black community was policed largely in a socially and politically oppressive manner; this was in line with government policy. On the whole, however, the more brutal and sinister nature of policing was yet to come to the fore although this thesis does point towards the increasingly repressive nature of policing in South Africa during the apartheid era. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A number of people and institutions, in a variety of ways, have contributed to the progressive shaping of this thesis. My thanks, firstly, to Dr Gary Baines who has supervised this work in a supportive, professional and friendly manner throughout the various stages of its development. Thanks also to my colleague, Pat Gibbs, for various suggestions and ideas whenever I approached her for source material and advice. Thanks also to the efficient and helpful archivists at the National Archives Repository in Pretoria, the Cape Archives and the Port Elizabeth Archives Repository for their assistance in locating relevant material. The financial assistance of Vista University and the Centre for Science Development is gratefully acknowledged. Without their help, journeys to Cape Town and Pretoria would have placed a severe strain on personal resources. My thanks to the following family members and friends for their kind hospitality during sojourns in Cape Town, Pretoria and Johannesburg: Pat and Derk Koning, Kevin and Lorna Rogers, Denis and Elaine von Hoesslin, Ray Williamson. vi LIST OF TABLES Page 2.1 Summary of training syllabus 28 2.2 Shortage of foot policemen in principal cities 37 2.3 Black police numbers, 1927-1945 54 2.4 Police manpower, 1954-1957 55 3.1 Home languages spoken by whites in PE 86 4.1 Number of policemen at PE police stations, 1925 109 6.1 Comparison of Criminal Cases in Port Elizabeth with other Cities,1951 169 6.2 African population increases in selected towns, 1951-1960 181 7.1 Home languages of PE whites 213 LIST OF FIGURES 4.1 Division of No. 14 Police District into two areas, 1948 120 4.2 Division of Port Elizabeth into two police districts, 1956 125 5.1 Port Elizabeth’s police stations, suburbs and townships, 1956 129 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1.1 Construction of Louis le Grange Square, 1985 15 2.1 Black recruits attending class during training 24 3.1 Marriage of Constable and Mrs L W Boyes 79 3.2 Examples of police humour and obsession with rugby 82 5.1 Official opening of Mount Road police station, 1930 139 8.1 Mob damage to the German Club, 1915 247 8.2 Crowd scenes outside Baakens Street police station, 1920 250 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ANC African National Congress CAR Cape Archives Repository CBD Central Business District CED Cape Eastern District CID Criminal Investigation Department Cllr Councillor EPH Eastern Province Herald MM Mayors’ Minutes, Port Elizabeth MP Member of Parliament NAB Native Advisory Board NAC Native Affairs Committee NAD Native Affairs Department NAR National Archives Repository NBAB New Brighton Advisory Board NBL New Brighton Location NCO Non-Commissioned Officer NP National Party PE Port Elizabeth PECC Port Elizabeth City Council PER Port Elizabeth Archives Repository PEICWU Port Elizabeth Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union PEM Port Elizabeth Municipality PWD Public Works Department SAIC South African Indian Congress SAIRR South African Institute of Race Relations SAMR South African Mounted Rifles SAP South African Police SAPS South African Police Service SAR&H South African Railways and Harbours UP United Party 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Viewed from a vantage point in Lovemore Heights, a prestigious suburb situated on hills south west of the city centre, Port Elizabeth’s northern skyline comprises a number of tall buildings which include the Provincial Hospital, Green Acres Shopping Mall and Louis le Grange Square. The latter fortress-like edifice, built in 1985, if not the most prominent in terms of structure, was certainly viewed by many as an infamous symbol of oppression in the city in the years before 1994. Although built during the dying days of apartheid, the site it occupies on Mount Road has served as district headquarters for the South African Police (SAP) in Port Elizabeth since 1931. The original building, constructed in 1930 and outwardly more stately and ‘community-friendly’ in appearance than its successor, was completely demolished to make way for the present soulless monolith (see Illustration 1.1). The size of the existing complex testifies not only to the expansion of the city since the 1930s but also to the increasingly crucial role the SAP played in the defence of apartheid. An ever-increasing black urban population, which became more militant in its demands for justice and equality from the early 1950s, necessitated a more powerful, more visible police presence in the city. It is the aim of this work to explore some of the more significant features of that ‘police presence’ in the city of Port Elizabeth from 1913 to 1956. The periodisation accords with two significant organisational events in the history of policing in the city, namely, the establishment of the SAP in April 1913 and the restructuring of police organisation in Port Elizabeth during 1956 which resulted in two distinct police districts being formed.