Red Squad
Key Historical Idea: As a result of the 1981 Springbok Tour going ahead an elite police force nick named the Red Squad was formed to control Anti-Tour protestors.
The Red Squad was formed to handle non-violent disruptions by anti-tour groups. They were dressed in riot gear and were equipped with long batons that were 60 cm long and riot helmets. These batons were originally used as martial arts weapons. They drilled at Papakura Army Base and faced violent secret training sessions in the lead up to the arrival of the Springbok Rugby team. Inspector Phil Keber commanded the squad and was said to have deliberately made training sessions tough on members. Nine months of police planning for the tour began in September 1980 when the NZRFU (New Zealand Rugby Football Union) issued an invitation to the Springbok team. Despite this planning and training they were not prepared for “the intensity, organisation and determination of the protestors exceeded that which even we could have foreseen, demanding a response well beyond original estimates”. This is what was concluded by the police in an internal report. The police had thrown out planning by the second game in Hamilton when protestors stormed the round. From then on they made up their tactics as they went along and their approach became increasingly aggressive. The squad first used the long batons on the protestors in Wellington resulting in the closest thing to civil war New Zealand has ever seen. Public opinion of the squad and the police force in general was negative as depicted in the poster "Red Squad is Yellow!".
Picture Above: Protestor batoned by Red Squad police in Wellington.
The Red Squad was formed to handle non-violent disruptions by anti-tour groups. They were dressed in riot gear and were equipped with long batons that were 60 cm long and riot helmets. These batons were originally used as martial arts weapons. They drilled at Papakura Army Base and faced violent secret training sessions in the lead up to the arrival of the Springbok Rugby team. Inspector Phil Keber commanded the squad and was said to have deliberately made training sessions tough on members. Nine months of police planning for the tour began in September 1980 when the NZRFU (New Zealand Rugby Football Union) issued an invitation to the Springbok team. Despite this planning and training they were not prepared for “the intensity, organisation and determination of the protestors exceeded that which even we could have foreseen, demanding a response well beyond original estimates”. This is what was concluded by the police in an internal report. The police had thrown out planning by the second game in Hamilton when protestors stormed the round. From then on they made up their tactics as they went along and their approach became increasingly aggressive. The squad first used the long batons on the protestors in Wellington resulting in the closest thing to civil war New Zealand has ever seen. Public opinion of the squad and the police force in general was negative as depicted in the poster "Red Squad is Yellow!".
Picture Above: Protestor batoned by Red Squad police in Wellington.