Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko said that he is ready to announce a panel of experts to probe public order policing‚ in order to ensure a transformed police service emerges from the ashes of the Marikana tragedy. The panel's formation is in line with the Farlam Commission of Inquiry's recommendations on the Marikana killings.The minister was addressing the audience at a policing dialogue hosted by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF) in Johannesburg.Blue Murder: Another side to Marikana storyOn August 16 2012 the South African police shot and killed 34 striking miners at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mining operation in the North West province.Nhleko said training of police officers will be a focal point of the expert panel's work‚ giving special attention to crowd management.Said Nhleko‚ “Training for crowd management [at police colleges] used to be two days. Now it is three weeks. Is this enough?”He also said the panel should consider the instruments that accompany officers to protests‚ saying that officers being heavily armed is not the ideal.Furthermore the panel may look into the demilitarisation of police ranks as the Farlam Commission's findings called for this ongoing debate to be refined‚ Nhleko said.Marikana commission leads to police budget growthThe South African Police Service has been allocated R598 million in this year’s budget to overhaul public order policing‚ in line with recommendations made by the Farlam commission in the wake of the 2012 Marikana killings.Police ombudsman Advocate Vusi Pikoli said that 2‚000 officers have been killed since the dawn of our democracy and asked how this will be addressed.Nhleko said that it was important for society to find a balance between protecting the rights of police officers and civilians.“If we kill one police officer we are killing ourselves. If you kill one police officer 357 people are without a police officer‚” he said.Nhleko will announce the expert panel on Friday afternoon...