Query on Police 'Strong-Arm Squad'

Sunday Times Reporter

Are the South African Police employing a Fifth arm — a special plain—clothes group — to carry out strong-arm work? This question has arisen because plain—clothes men took part in the police attack on students on Friday

This "arm" or division seems to act as a loose addition to the established divisions of the police security system — the uniformed section, the CID, the Special Branch and the Bureau for State Security.

At the head of the police baton charge were a band of tough-looking short-haired young men wearing leather Jackets, sweat shirts, jeans and other casual clothing — some of them carrying truncheons.

They went about beating up the students with relish — and with much efficiency. The police did not deter them.

Where do they come from? Some of them were seen to arrive in police cars driven by uniformed police drivers.

They could be policemen out of uniform, or police reservists. They could also, as has been suggested, be naval trainees brought in by the police for the occasion.

A student told me: "We know them pretty well. They are a tough lot We call them 'Muller's Muggers or 'Vorster's Leather Brigade'. Whoever they are, they're an ugly lot of customers."