The Special Task Force handles high risk operations that fall beyond the scope of classic policing which require specialised skills.

Captain J.J. de Swardt of the Security Branch of the Police as well as Sergeant Roelf de Plooy (a counter insurgency (COIN) instructor), both veterans of the deployments in Rhodesia against Zimbabwe African National Union rebels, began a grass roots attempt to form a group of police representatives with a shared vision of formalising a police-based special forces unit.

They began to train candidate police officers in survival and bush skills to execute high-risk COIN operations and drastically reduce friendly fatalities.

The members of this ragtag group were required to join the South African Police shooting club in order to acquire R1 battle rifles.

A vacant area near the Baviaanspoort Correctional Services that could be used for live-fire handgun and rifle training, and which also had an urban environment with rural terrain, was eventually found by Col. van der Merwe.

J.J. de Swardt then proceeded to hire instructors from Hunter Group of the South African Defence Force (SADF) such as martial arts specialist, Joe Grant Grierson.

Other instructors of the team were Bill du Toit (an ex-special forces soldier) who specialised in terror tactics, Mr K. Lucy who was an expert in rope work and abseiling, Mr T. Segala who had an extensive knowledge of booby traps and Improvised explosive devices, Gary Magnusson and Hannes Smit who were experienced civilian skydivers and Major Jakkals de Jager who was a paratrooper in the SADF.

In 1973, during the South African Games, the Israeli government stated that it would send their team but only on the sole condition that their security would be guaranteed.

Gen. Mike Geldenhuys, who was the head of the South African Police Security Branch at the time, arranged for Capt.

On 28 April 1975, however, a hostage siege occurred at the Israeli embassy and the Police (lacking an official counter terrorist force) could not resolve the situation.

In 1975, the counter insurgency conflict in South-West Africa (now named Namibia) also broke out and police and military manpower was now stretched between two COIN campaigns.

In 1975, the Bureau of State Security supported the creation of the unit and on 6 June 1975, Brigadier Vic Verster wrote an official recommendation from the South African Police Security Branch to the Commissioner of the South African Police and proposed the structure, command and control plans for the Special Task Force.

They held 25 civilians in the bank hostage, making a number of demands, including a meeting with State President Vorster, the release of Nelson Mandela and a man called Mange, as well as R100 000 in cash and an aircraft to fly them to Maputo.

[9] General Coetzee was awarded the South African Police Star for Outstanding Service for the bravery he showed when he walked into the bank, unarmed, to negotiate with the cadres.

The Special Task Force freed the hostage with the assistance of the negotiator (warder) and the Reaction Unit of Bloemfontein.

Two members of the Special Task Force assisted the Brixton Murder and Robbery Unit in recovering a corpse from the Selby mineshaft, Johannesburg.

The SAPS Special Task Force was summoned to the scene and 22 members were dispatched to the airport to contain the situation and release the hostages.

Ten members of the Special Task Force were deployed to the Nduma area in the Kruger National Park where they established observation posts.

A man armed with a firearm and was upset about the non-payment of his salary, entered the Telkom Distribution offices where he worked and took a number of people hostage.

After prolonged negotiations, all the hostages were released but the man refused to surrender and threatened to take his own life.

One member of the Special Task Force was employed as a sniper and during the tactical release of the hostages, the man was fatally wounded.

The Intelligence Service and CID of Secunda and Vereeniging requested the assistance of the Special Task Force in an operation to locate the whereabouts of a man who had been kidnapped and was being held hostage.

A man fleeing from the SAPS on 6 August 1995, took a woman hostage in the Hollywood Café, Esselen Street, Sunnyside.

Negotiations which had lasted a long time did not succeed and it was decided on a tactical release of the baby by members of the Special Task Force.

At around 17:00, the Special Task Force confronted a group of 20 heavily armed cash-in-transit robbers in a foiled robbery.

[12][11] Eight suspected ATM bombers were killed in a shoot-out when Special Task Force officers intercepted them as they were travelling to Howick.

Compulsory advanced courses include special skills such as diving, VIP protection, explosives and medical training.

The initial training period is nine months, but completing all the requisite advanced courses to become a full-fledged Special Task Force operational member may last up to three years.

[14] Highlighting the stringent selection process during the Special Task Force Training Course in 2005, 453 applications were received.

The recruits who did not pass the PREPCON phase admitted that their failure to do so was due to insufficient preparation for the course because they had thought that STF's standards have been lowered.