Police Anti-Terrorist Unit
| Police Anti-Terrorist Unit | |
|---|---|
 The patch of the Police Anti-Terrorist Unit. | |
| Active | 1966 - 1980 |
| Country | Rhodesia |
| Agency | British South Africa Police |
| Type | Paramilitary |
| Role | Counterterrorism, Counterinsurgency |
| Operations jurisdiction | Rhodesia |
| Part of | British South Africa Police (BSAP) |
| Abbreviation | PATU |
| Structure | |
| Subunits | Sticks
Support Units Tracking and Observation Units Canine Units Intelligence Units |
| Notables | |
| Significant operation(s) | |
The Police Anti-Terrorist Unit (PATU) was a paramilitary auxiliary arm of the British South Africa Police (BSAP) in Rhodesia. The unit was founded in 1966.[1] The concept was created for guerrilla bush warfare and the personnel were both black and white policemen.[2] The unit was abolished in 1980 following the dissolution of the BSAP.[3]
History
Until 1953, the BSAP was the only armed uniformed force permanently raised in
Their tactics involved them being deployed in groups of five known as "sticks".[1] The group would always be led by a black policeman from a tribe who had tracking and hunting skills and would act as interpreter.[6] The remaining four would tend to be made up of four white policemen, though some did have tracking experience.[6] This ratio would be common and there was only one all-black stick.[7] Initially they patrolled in police uniform but after Operation Cauldron, where there was hesitancy from a Rhodesian Light Infantry commando on firing at an enemy because they wore the same colour trousers as the BSAP's riot uniforms, PATU were issued camouflage uniforms.[8]
The plan for the unit was that they would be able to stay in the field for long periods of time after rapid deployment. However, due to lack of suitable volunteers in rural areas, a lot of the white policemen joining PATU sticks were white immigrants to Rhodesia who had lived in urban areas and had no experience of the bush.[6] Sometimes their numbers were made up by policemen seconded from the South African Police, a decision not popular with local Rhodesians due to the South Africans' tendency to make pro-apartheid comments whilst on patrol.[9] Eventually a majority of those in the police would have taken part in PATU,[10] though later younger policemen were moved to the Police Support Unit.[11] The unit was abolished in 1980 when the BSAP was disbanded.[3]
References
- ^ ISBN 9780950642932.
- ^ ISBN 9781317316909.
- ^ a b "PATU BSAP-RHODESIA-Metal Badge-NEAR MINT CONDITION was sold for R52.00 on 12 May at 20:16 by smokealot in Durban (ID:64626885)". Bidorbuy.co.za. 2012-05-12. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ^ ISBN 978-1910294055.
- ^ Kunene, Thabo (2017-07-27). "The Chinhoyi Battle: Did Zanu send its guerrillas on a suicide mission?". Bulawayo 24. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ^ ISBN 9781909982291.
- ISBN 9781580463805.
- ISBN 978-1466934092.
- ^ "Why I quit Smith's Rhodesia". The Observer. 1970-11-08. Retrieved 2021-07-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Salisbury is talking about tokens of the past". The San Francisco Examiner. 1978-11-26. Retrieved 2021-07-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 9780900065040.