The suspension - and likely dismissal - of Riah Phiyega as national police commissioner was a major consequence of Judge Ian Farlam's report on the Marikana massacre. Farlam's recommendation that this country's public order policing strategy be overhauled drew far less political heat, not to mention media coverage.But his recommendations could have a far more profound effect than the changing of the guard among the police's top leadership.Anyone who doubts this should consider the serious challenges to policing presented by the student protests this week, including huge demonstrations that spiralled dangerously out of control at the Union Buildings and at parliament.The police were criticised for their handling of the protests, with complaints that they were ''heavy-handed'', but no students were killed or seriously hurt by the men and women in blue, despite considerable provocation from unruly elements in mainly peaceful crowds. The police response was limited to stun grenades and tear gas in the parliamentary precinct, and rubber bullets used against rock-throwing students outside the seat of government.And yet it was hard not to feel that the police missed a trick at both demonstrations. Surely more officers should have been dispatched. The authorities had advance warning that students were marching on the two most critical institutions of state - far larger numbers of officers would have made both students and police safer.Both events showed that public order policing units need to improve their crowd control strategies, tactical awareness and command and control. How were protesters able to burst into the parliamentary precinct and threaten the Union Buildings?The government must speed up its implementation of Farlam's recommendations, starting with an investigation into global best practice on the use of non-lethal measures to deal with unruly crowds...