England Fans, Look Closely at This Picture. Do Not Step Out Of Line at This World Cup

ENGLAND fans, have a look at the picture above. Those who remember Marseille in 1998 and Stuttgart in 2006, where hoodlums bearing the cross of St George disgraced their nation, had better beware.

In South Africa, where violent crime is daily occurrence, the cops don't tend to take prisoners. Literally.

The local police staged a major show of force through the streets of Rustenburg yesterday before England's opening World Cup clash against the USA on June 12.

Armoured trucks, bomb disposal units, guard dogs, mounted police and patrol motorbikes sent out the message: We're ready for anything.

Sleepy Rustenburg awoke to the sounds of police sirens as a vast armada of security forces made their way down the main street. A parade nearly two miles long ended with dramatic simulations of some of emergency and disaster management responses.

The "Security Show of Force" as the local NorthWest police dubbed their march, comes the day after a bomb hoax at the official World Cup fan park.

Lesego Metsi, one of the men tasked with keeping peace among the fans - England and the USA are the two biggest ticket buyers for this World Cup - also has to deal with terrorist threats and high, though declining, local crime rates.

He said: "Our intelligence team is working around the clock with Interpol. Security will be high for the teams at their base camps. We have enough forces and capacity to deal with any threats." Nationwide, World Cup security is being dealt with by a genial General Bheki Cele. I've spent some time with him. Big chap. Got a glint in his eye. This week he was grilled on television over his eagerness to encourage his forces to shoot first, talk afterwards, when confronted with problems.

In Durban last week he told me: "I have the England fans on my radar. I've been over and talked to your police. I know all about them. They will be dealt with."

Cele will send out buses known as "Jaws" with a full-functioning court and cells on board. He grins: "When we get them, we'll charge them and deal with them. If it's a serious offence, they go to jail. Or we take them straight to the airport and send them home."

Guess we've got the message, loud and clear.

Sneak preview of the US World Cup base at Irene Lodge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OtSyTVjDOc

Subscribe to my YouTube feed for the Greek, Italian and New Zealand bases. Coming tomorrow: England's base at the Royal Marang.

For reaction (53 comments at the last count) to the Sun's "Deadly Snakes threaten England camp" nonsense, see: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3102&art_id=vn20100525111223421C329520

Pick your bloodbath: London 2012 or South Africa 2010... read the stats, make up your mind. Feel free to comment

GUN crime in London has risen sharply. There were 429 more offences than the year before - a rise of 14.1 per cent - according to the Metropolitan Police.

According to the London Evening Standard, knife crime has also risen in London, with 266 more crimes in the last financial year, taking the annual tally to 12,611. A total of 117 killings took place in the London – yet this is where the Olympics will be held in 2012.

Yesterday, the Met Police commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson was forced to respond to two recent incidents - Nathan Allen was shot dead in New Cross and 16-year-old Nick Pearton was stabbed to death in a Sydenham park.

He said: “These problems are of an old age. What are the real issues that force young people to choose the wrong family - the gang family rather than the family at home?

"Addressing these social problems is the key. These are jobs for the politicians at local level and the new government. I don't do social engineering, I'm a cop."

Thanks Sir Paul. Very reassuring before London’s greatest sports event in 50 years. Here in South Africa, where local Police Commissioner Bheki Cele is 23 days short of hosting the 2010 World Cup, it’s a different story.

Though the British press – and their international counterparts – have been quick to predict “a bloodbath” for fans in a Rainbow Nation still trying to right the wrongs of post-Apartheid, post-colonial South Africa, the feeling is a lot more positive.

General Cele told me as we talked in Durban’s magnificent new Moses Mabhida Stadium last week: “Everything is in place for a peaceful World Cup. We will do all we can to assure the safety of fans visiting South Africa. And I know all about your England football fans and what they are capable of.”

Cele is a big, tough-looking bloke. But he has a sparkle in his eye. That’s probably because his much-maligned nation offers statistics to back up his argument. As the red tops in London warn England’s WAGs to stay home and instil fear in every football fan, I can provide this from Johan Burger, senior researcher in the crime and justice programme at South Africa's Institute for Security Studies.

He told the BBC this week: "Contrary to what many people think, the murder rate, while still extremely high, is down by about 44% since 1995. That's a huge decrease.

“What is important to understand about our high crime rate is that we know from research that approximately 80% of our murders happen within a very specific social context, mostly between people that know one another."

Given that South Africa’s newspapers are unlikely to call for a boycott of London 2012 given the rise in violent crime, perhaps it’s time to give South Africa a break. Perhaps the British tabloids should give the 2010 World Cup a little positive push as the days tick down to the big kick-off on June 11.

They won’t of course. It doesn’t sell newspapers. But they should. I’ve been in South Africa for three weeks and yet to be greeted with anything less than a smile walking the streets of Johannesburg and Durban. I was the only white guy watching Amazulu play Sundowns in the big semi-final at the ABSA Stadium last Saturday. I didn’t even have a Vuvuzela to defend myself with.

But all I got was smiles. Everywhere I go, I fail to witness bloodbaths. I have hardly been mugged at all. The only crime stories are fourth-hand tales from embittered white folk of a certain age who long for the bad old days of Apartheid.

Let’s finish with this: “It is clear that the biggest concern here is safety and violence, and we are doing everything we can in this area to see a reduction." That quote comes from London’s police commissioner, not South Africa’s.