In its report, released by President Jacob Zuma in June last year, the commission recommended that a panel be established to review public order policing and analyse international best practice.
Nhleko, launching the task team at the SAPS Academy in Pretoria West, said the ministry was instructed to review and evaluate policing on public protests and benchmark international best practices to improve policing.
Tuesday marks the fourth year since 34 mineworkers were massacred by police during a deadly protest at a Lonmin mine.
The Farlam Commission recommended that the SAPS looked into its public order policing unit and ability to properly deal with demonstrations.
Nhleko said the issue was among many that would be dealt with by the task team, including the question of the deployment of lethal weapons, as well as communication.
“The commission specifically identified some of those issues,” he said.
The minister said they did not want to witness another Andries Tatane, referring to the Ficksburg service delivery protester who was murdered by police in the Free State, or a repeat of Marikana, hence the inauguration of the task team.
“The task team is being led by the Farlam Commission findings. We must closely take note that the commission did not recommend a change in policing; it merely suggested a review,” he said.
“This means we have been tasked to investigate and analyse what had gone wrong and come up with our own remedial advice to the ministry.”
Nhleko said the mandate of the task team was applicable to the National Development Plan’s vision of professionalising and demilitarising the SAPS.
“We have been given a mandate to ensure the SAPS is a professional, demilitarised service that is aimed at conducting policing in an integrated manner, while working together with our communities,” the minister said.
He also spoke at length about how the team would look at the standing orders, and command and control issues.
Deputy Police Minister Maggie Sotyu would be the overseer of both the panel of experts and transformation task team.
IOL