British South Africa Police

Police General Headquarters situated in then Montague Avenue, Salisbury was the hub and control of command within the British South Africa Police.

The Commissioner of Police was responsible to the Minister of Law and Order for the efficient policing of the nation.  He had two Deputy Commissioners:

• Deputy Commissioner (Crime and Security) was responsible for all matters handled by:

  • Criminal Investigation Department
  • Duty Uniform Branch under the control of a Chief Staff Officer (Police) who oversaw:

    • Duty Uniform Operations
    • Police Reserve

  • Special Branch (Internal) although Officer Commanding Special Branch also had the title the Director Internal (DIN) Branch 1 and reported to the Director General (DG) of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).
  • Signals

• Deputy Commissioner (Administration) : The rank of Deputy Commissioner was first introduced in 1958, following the recommendations of the Mundy and subsequent commissions, which reviewed the structure and remuneration of the entire force. The Deputy Commissioner (Administration) was responsible to the Commissioner for administration of the following portfolios :

  • Administration
  • Finance
  • Personnel
  • Establishments
  • Press Liaison
  • Quartermaster’s Section

    • Armaments
    • Ordnance Stores
    • Pioneers (building and construction)
    • Printers
    • Saddlers
    • Tailors

  • Transport
  • Recruiting
  • Training
  • Welfare and Sport

The Uniform Branch was, naturally, the mainstay of the BSA Police. Originally the force was split by distict partition between the District and Town Branches, but later provincialisation of the force brought both district and town stations under single commands in geographic areas. More specialisation occurred on the larger town stations, giving rise to a number of sections, while district branch policemen often became ‘jacks of all trades’. The first line of call by the public to report crime or seek assistance was the, ominously named, Charge Office. The larger cities which deployed roving motor vehicle, B-Car, patrols had call receptions centres referred to as Information Rooms or Control Rooms. These were the hub of the force. Behind this facade lay several sections all involved with objective of policing in Rhodesia, including:

• Urban and District police stations formed the core of the Uniformed Branch structure in almost every town in Rhodesia, no matter how remote;
• Enquiries Sections – involved with follow-up on original reports of crime;
• Cadet Branch – for youth under the age of 18;
• Crime Prevention Unit – a plain clothes section utilised for under-cover work, generally involving illicit alchohol, drug abuse, and anti-social behaviour;
• Licence Inspectorate – the inspectors of liquor licencing and other statutory licencing;
• Sub-Aqua Section – a specialist section involved with under-water recovery of exhibits, including on occasions the bodies of drowned persons and murder victims;
• Ground Coverage – a grass roots intellince system, generally deployed in plain clothes and mostly in the rural or ‘high density’ areas to seek information on popular feelings or dissent within the community;
• Dog Section (Operational) – the Dog Section played an important role in both crime detection and prevention through the use of tracker dogs and guard dogs. As the guerilla war evolved, dogs were used in support of police units tracking terrorist gangs (see Police Animals);
• Police Anti Terrorist Unit (Regular) – most districts affected by insurgent infiltrations deployed PATU units to track and combat terrorism in their respective areas, and often operated in support of other police units and the military in this role.