South African Police Service Special Task Force - History

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.

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