Mass killings and calculated measures The impact of police massacres on police reform in South Africa Guy Lamb* [email protected] http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2413-3108/2018/v0n63a3028 Over the past two centuries, the police have perpetrated massacres in response to protest action in numerous countries. Available scholarly literature has typically focused on the circumstances that contributed to such mass killings, but rarely has there been consideration of the impact that such massacres subsequently may have had on the police organisation. Hence, this article will explore the relationship between massacres perpetrated by the police and police reform, with a particular focus on South Africa. The article concludes that, in the context of public order policing, massacres perpetuated by the police can contribute towards relatively immediate police reforms, particularly in terms of police strategies and tactics. In some circumstances, massacres have even led to some restructuring of the police organisation. The nature of the government and the policing environment appeared to be key determinants of the types of police reforms, post-massacre. In August 1819, 17 people were killed and Metropolitan Police in 1829.1 This police model hundreds were injured during a protest for was gradually adopted by numerous states and parliamentary reform at St Peter’s Fields in has now become one of the more prevalent Manchester, England, as a result of a cavalry police models in most democratic contexts. charge by the sabre-wielding yeomanry. This Over the past two centuries the police have incident has commonly become known as the ‘Peterloo Massacre’ and, as many policing perpetuated massacres in response to protest scholars have argued, was an important event action in many countries, such as Brazil, in the founding of the modern police. This Ethiopia, France, Peru, the Philippines, South massacre underscored for parliamentarians Africa, Ukraine, the United States and Yemen as well as the ruling elite that military troops (to name but a few). A police massacre is in were an inappropriate mechanism for the essence a specific incident that entails the policing of protests, and ultimately contributed indiscriminate killing of a large number of to the creation of the civilian-oriented London people by an official government police entity. Scholarly literature has typically focused on the circumstances that contributed to such mass * Guy Lamb is the Director of the Safety and Violence Initiative (SaVI) at the University of Cape Town. killings, but rarely has there been consideration SA CRIME QUARTERLY NO. 63 • MARCH 2018 5 of the impact that such massacres may to determining whether or not police reforms subsequently have had on police organisations. would be pursued in its aftermath. In essence, This is somewhat surprising, given the key role five propositions can be derived from the that a massacre played in the establishment of literature, as outlined below. the modern police model. This article therefore Firstly, the police will adopt reforms where explores the relationship between massacres massacres result in significant injuries and perpetrated by the police and police reform, with casualties to the police, or where they realise a particular focus on South Africa. that such forceful tactics may contribute In the policing literature reform is typically to more large-scale protests. This was the associated with the refashioning of the police case with the Haymarket riot in Chicago in with a view to forging more democratic 1886, where a bomb was hurled at the police approaches to policing.2 However, this article, during a militant labour demonstration. Four drawing on the work of Styles,3 makes use of protestors and seven policemen were killed a broader definition of police reform, namely in the ensuing events. Thereafter the police changes that are made to the police with the altered their tactics and engaged in undercover aim of improving police work and the functioning operations in order to pre-empt further violent of the police organisation for all government confrontations with protestors. Two years later, types, not only democracies. Under this the Chicago police declared that the lesson definition, police reform can, in effect, entail the they had learned from such changes to policing adoption of more repressive policing methods tactics was that ‘the revolutionary movement and can include the acquisition of military-style must be carefully observed and crushed if equipment in the context of an authoritarian it showed signs of growth’.4 A more recent regime, as such reforms are typically geared example took place in Zhanaozen, Kazakhstan, towards improving the regime’s prospects of where the police reportedly adopted less lethal maintaining its oppressive rule and authority. approaches to public order policing after their violent crackdown on striking oil workers in Using this broader conceptualisation of police 2011 resulted in the death of 15 strikers. These reform, this article will address the following changes were based on concerns that further research question: what types of police reforms police repression might lead to a surge in anti- in South Africa were implemented after major government agitation.5 massacres perpetrated by the police, and why? The article will analyse the relationship between Secondly, the police will initiate a reform process various prominent massacres perpetrated by following a massacre where they perceive that the police in South Africa between 1920 and they were unprepared for the protest encounter 2012, and the subsequent police reforms (or the and overwhelmed by the protestors. This lack thereof). has mainly been the case where repressive governments have changed policing strategies Massacres and police reforms and tactics following a massacre in an attempt A reading of published police histories from to contain and quash further protest action a variety of countries suggests that there is a that could ultimately result in the demise of the conceivable relationship between massacres authoritarian regime. For example, in 2005 the perpetrated and reforms implemented by the Ethiopian police, who had a history of extensive police. What is evident, however, is that the human rights abuses,6 massacred close to context and nature of each massacre was key 200 protesters and injured more than 700, 6 INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES & UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN following contested election results.7 Following catalyst for more immediate changes in policing. this massacre, the Ethiopian police reportedly In this case the Ukrainian ‘Berkut’ riot police received considerable military-style riot control were disbanded because they shot unarmed training from the South African Police Service demonstrators during anti-government protests (SAPS), and purchased significant amounts in Kiev in 2014. This was part of a larger police of more modern riot control equipment and reform process that was pursued after the weaponry.8 Furthermore, the Ethiopian police ousting of the Yanukovych government.14 sought to forge more effective relationships Fifthly, democratic police reforms towards the with communities in order to ‘strengthen use of less repressive measures following a support for the police and to further the massacre are only likely where there have been gathering of intelligence’.9 concerted efforts by governments to implement Thirdly, there will be no apparent police reforms a reform process. This is because the police as after a massacre in cases where the protestors an institution are acutely resistant to change, did not pose a significant threat, or did not and resolute external pressure is therefore often inflict significant casualties on the police, and required to compel the police towards reform.15 there was no political will to hold the police to For example, in Mexico, following the massacre account for their actions. A clear example was of 43 students in Iguala in September 2014 by the massacre of approximately 200 protestors an organised criminal group (these students had of North African descent by the Paris police previously been abducted by corrupt police and in 1961, which was during the time of the then handed over to the criminal group), the Algerian civil war.10 There were no indications government initiated a legislative police reform that the Paris police underwent any significant process, focusing in particular on the municipal changes thereafter, other than the intensification level. However, to date this process has been of intelligence-gathering activities in relation to undermined by political wrangling.16 dissident groups.11 A further example was the These five propositions will be used in the 1987 Mendiola Massacre in the Philippines following sections as the basis to further where the police killed 13 people who were examine the nature of the relationship between protesting for agrarian reform. There were no massacres and police reforms in South Africa police casualties, and no immediate police since the creation of the Union of South Africa reform, despite a government-wide process of in 1910. The focus will be on the key massacres democratisation.12 There were similar dynamics that were perpetrated by the police in the after a massacre in the Malaysian village of 1920s; the Sharpeville massacre (1960); the Memali in November 1985, where police killed Soweto uprising (1976); massacres that took 14 members of an Islamic sect.13 place during the mid to late 1980s; and the Fourthly, police reform will be pursued after Marikana massacre (2012). massacres have taken place in the context of regime change such as a transition to Public order policing in South Africa: a brief historical overview democratic rule, where the police had previously been responsible for the excessive use of Between 1910 and 1993 the South African violence against civilians (including massacres). Police (SAP) generally resorted to the use of Examples here include Chile, Indonesia, force (or the threat thereof) in order to disperse Namibia and South Africa. In some instances, and quell agitated crowds of black people.