INTRODUCTION

The transition to democracy in South Africa has seen an opening up of possibilities for the involvement of community organisations in local safety and security issues. One of the problems, however, is that many such organisations have not developed an understanding of how to intervene most effectively in the field of safety and security.²

This article aims to contribute to an improved understanding of how safety and security issues at the local level may be addressed by:

examining the relationship between safety and security issues and integrated development;



indicating how the various official structures, such as the South African Police Service (SAPS), Community Police Forums (CPFs), provincial and local government, are involved in safety and security issues at local level and illustrating some of the types of initiatives which have been undertaken by these bodies;



examining some of the issues which need to be addressed in dealing with issues of safety and security at the local level; and



pointing to some of the priorities for the incorporation of a concern with safety and security into the process of integrated local planning.

SAFETY AND SECURITY AND THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

A good starting point for this survey of safety and security issues at the local level is what might be described as a `traditional' view of the relationship between crime and development. In terms of this view, the process of development is seen as a solution to crime. Underpinning this is the belief that crime is `caused' by poverty and that development strategies which are aimed at `dealing with poverty' will also serve as a means of preventing crime.

But, as is pointed out in the Government's National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS), "poverty is ... not an inherent explanation of criminal activity." Furthermore, as the NCPSemphasises, there is a need to `disaggregate' crime. Factors which contribute to one type of crime do not necessarily contribute to other types of crime. For instance, "there is no automatic correlation between poverty or unemployment and violent crime, although there may be a greater correlation between these factors and acquisitive crime such as housebreaking, theft, etc."³

Not only does development not necessarily provide a solution to crime, but it may in fact contribute to increased levels of crime in a particular area. For example, the creation of a trade or shopping district in a particular area, as one component of a development plan, may attract a larger criminal element into the area.

The manner in which `environmental' factors are addressed in the development process may also have an important impact on levels of crime:

Houses which are designed in such a way that they are highly secluded from each other may be targeted by criminals, who believe that they will be able to enter without being noticed by other people.



Neglect of an area may encourage crime, such as vandalism, as well as more serious forms of crime. Issues to do with the provision of services for maintenance and repair in an area can therefore also be seen as issues of safety and security.

In addition, it should be noted that the development process itself can generate opportunities for increased criminality. For instance, funds which have been provided for development purposes may be diverted by fraudulent means. The allocation, for example, of tenders or houses may be related to the payment of bribes. Materials on a particular construction sight may be stolen.

Furthermore, "the injection of development resources into communities" may contribute to an escalation of competition and social conflict between community members. Sometimes this conflict may take a violent form. "This demands that such developmental initiatives are carefully facilitated, managed and mediated so as to avoid such eventualities."⁴

The reality of the South Africa that we are living in today, is that it is a high crime society. Part of this reality is that, where there is development, there is likely to be crime. Development may attract crime to an area. Development plans which do not address issues of safety and security may, in themselves, make an area relatively `criminal friendly'. Such development plans, if not properly conceived, may even contribute to what seems to be an increased propensity of some of the people living in that area to become involved in criminal activity. The development process itself may present people with opportunities for criminality or may contribute to conflictand sometimes violence within the community.

There can be little doubt, therefore, that issues of safety and security have to be addressed as an important component of any process of integrated local development.

THE CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK

The new Constitution of the Republic of South Africa was approved by the Constitutional Court late in 1996 and finally came into operation early in 1997. The Constitution provides a framework for understanding the relationship between key government institutions which is important in understanding safety and security issues at the local level.

Perhaps most important of all are some of the provisions relating to the `police service' which are contained in Chapter 11:

Section 205 (1) provides that the police service is a "national police service [which] must be structured to function in the national, provincial and, where appropriate, local spheres of government."



Section 205 (2) provides that the "powers and functions" of the police service must be established by national legislation which must "enable the police service to discharge its responsibilities effectively, taking into account the requirements of the provinces."⁵

The significance of these provisions in the Constitution with regard to issues at the local level, is that they indicate that the primary political and managerial control of the SAPS is to be carried out at national and provincial levels. The South African situation may therefore be contrasted with that in the United States, for instance, where each city and municipality has its own police service. While there are also the equivalent of provincial (state) and national (federal) police services in the US, the primary task of policing is carried out by police personnel who fall under the control of municipal governments.

While providing for policing largely to be regulated at the national and provincial levels of government, the Constitution does provide some indication that local authorities do have responsibilities relating to safety and security. For example, in addition to the reference to "local spheres of government" in Section 205(l), Section 152(l)(d) provides that the "objects of local government" include the provision of "a safe and healthy environment."

THE SAPS, COMMUNITY POLICING AND CPFS

The SAPS has recently adopted `community policing' as its operational philosophy. The termhas been used and defined differently in a variety of countries. A definition currently being used by the SAPS defines community policing as including the following elements:

The SAPS should be service oriented and should focus on improving the quality of service which they provide to the community or public.



The SAPS should work in partnership with the community. CPFs are intended to assist the SAPS in implementing this partnership approach, but the police may also attempt to establish other partnerships, such as those which they establish for the purpose of problem-solving.



Problem-solving involves grouping together and finding solutions for `crime problems'. The term refers here to various incidents which are linked or which resemble one another in some way.



Empowerment of communities should be undertaken so that they can make an effective contribution to crime prevention.



The accountability of the police should include accountability to the community.⁶

Chapter 7 of the South African Police Service Act, No 68 of 1995, deals with Community Police Forums and Boards with a provision in Section 19(l) for CPFs to be established at police stations that should be "broadly representative of the community."

From the perspective of the police, CPFs represent one aspect of the overall operational philosophy of community policing. CPFs are intended to provide forums for organisations and groups in the community to engage with the police around issues of safety and security. They therefore serve as a potentially important avenue for the involvement of such organisations in safety and security issues. Such a liaison between the SAPS and the community is intended to assist in:

establishing and maintaining a partnership between the community and the SAPS;



promoting communication and co-operation between the SAPS and the community;



improving the police services in the community;



improving the transparency and accountability of the SAPS to the community;and



promoting joint problem identification and problem-solving between the SAPS and the community.

Area Community Police Boards are to be composed of representatives of CPFs in each area (Section 20(2)) while Provincial Community Police Boards are to include representatives of all area boards in that province (Section 21(2)).

It is not possible to analyse issues relating to community policing and CPFs at great length here. Therefore the discussion is restricted to the points below.

When they were initially implemented, the primary role of CPFs was to provide forums for communication between the police and communities. CPFs were regarded as a way of helping to bridge the chasm between police and communities, a legacy of the role played by the police in enforcing apartheid. It appears to be true that many CPFs have played a significant role in this regard. The big question is to what extent CPFs can play an active role both in contributing towards the transformation of the SAPS into a more effective police service and in serving as a channel for involving members of the community in crime prevention.

In more affluent areas, CPFs have often assisted the police by raising funds, for example, from business concerns to improve the facilities at police stations or to provide the police with additional vehicles. In certain cases, CPFs have also mobilised the community to assist the police in other ways, for instance by serving as volunteers in police charge offices. However, CPFs in less affluent areas have generally not been as successful in this regard.

In many cases, there have been problems in the operation of CPFs. These have included problems arising from limited resources and capacity. Many CPFs have also faced difficulties in sustaining participation of different groups and therefore cannot really claim to be representative of the community. In rural areas, CPFs in general have not been able to operate due in part to the large distances that have to be covered by community members in order to attend CPF meetings.

One of the difficulties that CPF members face is in maintaining consistency when drawing attention to shortcomings in `service delivery' by the police. Working, as they do, face to face with members of the police, there is a strong potential for community members to "lose their independence and begin to perceive problems from a police perspective."⁷ CPF members face the danger of merely serving to legitimise existing police policies rather than to provide real community inputs and, where necessary, actually challenging the SAPS.

One of the issues which has never been addressed properly is the relationship between local authorities and CPFs. Active participation in the CPF by the local authority has the potential to contribute considerably to the effective functioning of the CPF.

While it would seem that, as formally elected representatives of the community, it would be appropriate for local councillors to be formally represented on CPFs, the reality is that the involvement of local councillors is of a limited nature in many cases. However, it is not only questions of participation by local councillors which need to be addressed, but the issue of the relationship between CPFs and the local authorities in general. Local authorities could, for instance, potentially be drawn on to provide forms of secretarial assistance to CPFs, and contribute in addressing many of the difficulties, such as problems of capacity, which they are facing.

While the involvement of local authorities in CPFs, should aim to strengthen and improve their functioning, care should be taken to ensure that local authorities do not dominate the CPFs and that an emphasis continues to be placed on community participation. Certain community interests, such as taxi or hostel residents' associations or women's organisations, are often not represented at the local authority level. These are the kinds of important community representatives whose involvement makes the existence of CPFs particularly worthwhile.

One of the difficulties is the fact that local council boundaries do not necessarily coincide with the boundaries of policing areas. In general, this complicates the relationship between local authorities and the SAPS and makes the issues of joint planning and co-operation potentially highly complex. It may contribute to uncertainty with regard to which local councillors and local councils should be responsible for involvement in particular CPFs and what police services are available in any particular local authority area.

INVOLVEMENT OF PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

An example of involvement by provincial government in local safety and security issues is the involvement of the Gauteng Provincial Government in the Johannesburg Inner City Development Forum (ICDF). In addition to activities such as trying to ensure the effective functioning of CPFs, the Ministry of Safety and Security of the Gauteng Provincial Government has been extensively involved in the ICDF, with the intention that Johannesburg could provide a model for the management of crime in inner city central business districts (CBDs).

The ICDF, which involves representatives of the community, business and local government, as well as the provincial government, has attempted to develop an integrated approach to theissue of reviving the Johannesburg city centre. The ICDF's public environment task team has broad responsibility for addressing a range of issues such as homelessness, informal trade, cleaning and refuse removal, lighting, taxis, road management and crime.

One component of the provincial government's work on the ICDF has been the promotion of the Safety Lung concept, a multi-dimensional approach intended to contribute to the creation of "an attractive, safe and secure environment, in the CBD of Johannesburg." Aspects of the Safety Lung project include:

establishing partnerships between businesses in the same streets with a view to working collectively to combat crime; and



moving away from exclusive vehicle patrol to foot and motorcycle patrol and policing, thereby increasing police visibility and accessibility. A number of blocks in the city are to be allocated to teams of eight to ten police with the leader of each team being accountable to ensure that the crime situation on that block is managed effectively.⁸

SAFETY AND SECURITY AND THE LOCAL AUTHORITY

The National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS), which provides a framework for government strategy on how to combat crime was issued by government in May 1996. One of the significant aspects of the NCPS is that it specifically provides for local government to play an active role in crime prevention. It states that:

"Local authorities, especially in urban areas, have a central role to play in crime prevention and will be encouraged to implement crime prevention strategies": and



that "the exact strategies and mechanisms that local governments adopt should be based on local crime prevention priorities and strategies."⁹

While the NCPS encourages the more active involvement of local authorities in crime prevention, local authorities already have an extensive history of involvement particularly in forms of policing. Currently, in addition to their participation in some CPFs (see above), this involvement frequently includes some of the following elements.

Local authority security and traffic departments, the powers of `Peace officers and the proposed implementation of municipal policing

The primary responsibility of traffic police is the enforcement of the Road Traffic Act and local traffic bylaws. The major responsibility of local authority security officials is the security of localauthority property. But in practice, traffic and security officers also play a broader role in crime prevention and law enforcement as a result of powers which are provided to them when they are registered as `peace officers' in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act, No 51 of 1977.

Where traffic officers or security officials have been appointed as peace officers, they have some of the same powers that are provided to members of the SAPS by the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act, such as the power to arrest a person without a warrant in terms of Section 40.

In some municipalities, traffic and/or security departments are extensively involved in crime prevention and law enforcement, for instance by participating in the planning and execution of joint anti-crime operations with the police. It is because of this fact that it has been said that forms of municipal policing are already being practised by a number of municipalities.

While municipal police services are provided for in terms of both the Constitution¹⁰ and the South African Police Services Act,¹¹ no municipal police services as such have been formally established (writing in March 1997) in terms of these provisions.¹²

However, certain municipalities are moving towards the implementation of municipal policing. For instance, the Germiston Local Council has developed a framework for the development of a municipal police service which will start with the amalgamation of the Traffic, Security, Fire and Ambulance and Licensing departments under a single Department of Safety and Security. As envisaged, the Safety and Security Department will oversee the creation of the municipal police service which will be comprised primarily of the traffic police and some members of the security department.

Municipal police services are expected to emphasise visible policing which is focused on areas such as central business districts and taxi-ranks. They will not be involved in general in crime investigations, although they may play a limited investigative role, for instance in relation to traffic accidents.¹³

Safety and security section 59 committees

Section 59 of the Local Government (Administration and Elections) Ordinance provides for "committees to assist the management committee" to be appointed by local authorities. A number of local authorities have Section 59 committees which have been appointed to deal with safety and security issues. These committees are generally responsible for dealing with issues related to specific departments of the local authority, such as traffic, fire and ambulance services, and the local authorities' own security department. In certain local authorities, these committees have also started to address a broader range of safety and security type issues.

Other local authority crime prevention initiatives

In addition to the above, certain local authorities have been involved in a range ofother activities intended to promote safety and security. These have included:

Establishment of Communication Centres

These are Rescue 911 type facilities which serve as a centralised point for receiving emergency calls and for re-routing these calls to the appropriate agency or combination of agencies, such as the police, ambulance services, or other emergency services.

Surveillance Cameras

A number of municipalities have been involved in the installation of closed circuit television (CCTV) surveillance cameras in high crime areas.

Reviving the Inner City

As indicated above, Johannesburg has undertaken an extensive programme intended to contribute to the revival of the Johannesburg inner city.

The Greater Pretoria Metropolitan Council Crime Prevention Forum

In Pretoria, the Metropolitan Council has established a CPF, involving a diverse range of role-players, including the SAPS, the national government departments of Correctional Services, Justice, Labour, and Social Welfare, the Pretoria Community Policing Area Board, representatives of business and non-government organisations (NGOs). The Forum is intended to play a co-ordinating role with regard to crime prevention matters in the Pretoria Metropolitan area with task teams being set up to deal with specific issues. One of the initial priorities has been to demarcate the types of functions which will be performed by the Forum. This was in response to a concern expressed by the Community Policing Area Board that the Crime Prevention Forum was simply duplicating its own functions.

Mediation and Intervention Regarding the Threat of Crime or Violence

Some local authorities have become involved in intervening or mediating in disputes, for instance in the taxi industry where relationships between rival taxi organisations have deteriorated.

Confronting Corruption

Though not particularly extensive, some local authorities have undertaken initiatives to encourage reporting of corrupt practices by council employees, such as bus drivers.

Other local government functions

Some of the other powers and responsibilities of local government, such as the provision of lighting in public places, and, as indicated earlier, traffic law enforcement, are also directly relevant to the issue of safety and security.

CRITICAL ISSUES IN THE PROVISION OF SAFETY AND SECURITY AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

Victimisation and victim support

Efforts to improve safety and security at the local level frequently focus on measures such as visible policing, which are directed at the public sphere. However, particular forms of violence which often take place in the private domain of people's homes, such as rape, child abuse and battering, are often widespread and therefore also need to be addressed as part of the local level crime prevention agenda.

One of the important requirements of an effective strategy for dealing with safety and security issues at the local level is therefore the need to get a reasonably accurate picture of the crime situation in that area. There are various reasons why this is necessary. Studies have shown that, for different reasons, police statistics often give a highly inadequate picture of the crime situation in an area. While their views should be taken into account, groupings who are involved in public forums, such as CPFs often prioritise their own concerns while the concerns of groupings who are not involved in these forums, or who have less influence on them, such as women, young or homeless people, are frequently ignored.

Information gathering processes which form part of integrated local planning can therefore be used to get a more accurate picture of the extent of victimisation, and of public concerns related to safety and security, resulting in targeting crime prevention measures more effectively.

However, the issue goes beyond the need to clarify the extent of crime in any area. There has recently been an increasing awareness of the need to pay far more attention to the needs of victims of crime. This includes issues such as the treatment of victims by the police and other agents of the criminal justice system, among them court prosecutors. The need for better mental health and other support services to be provided to victims of crime has also beenacknowledged, particularly where the victim has in some way been traumatised by the experience. Part of the process of integrated local planning should therefore include a focus on support services for victims.

Police services

As indicated above, there are a range of role-players in the provision of policing services at the local level, including the SAPS, traffic police and local authority security departments. In some areas, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF)has also become involved in policing activities, for instance in conducting patrols. In addition, there is a movement at present towards the introduction of municipal police services in certain local areas. Furthermore, South Africa also has an extensive private security industry, though it is generally only business groupings and the residents of more affluent areas who are able to afford these services.

While state policing services are in principle supposed to be provided equally to all citizens, this is often not the case in reality. In South Africa, the legacy of discriminatory policing practices still persists, and one of the ongoing issues in the safety and security field relates to ensuring that policing services provided in different areas are of an equal standard.

Access to and quality of policing services are therefore important issues which need to be addressed as part of any process of integrated local planning. These include issues dealing with the location of police stations and the quality of facilities provided at police stations. With a range of role-players currently involved in the provision of policing services, co-ordination and co-operation between the different services also become increasingly important. The introduction of municipal policing also points to the need to address the development and transformation of organisational structures in relation to local authority structures involved in the provision of safety and security.

Informing any initiatives in the field of safety and security at the local level should be the knowledge that current SAPS thinking emphasises the need to "facilitate managerial autonomy and empowerment at the lowest possible level ... in order to maximise the effectiveness of local police initiatives [because] most crime is best managed at the local level."¹⁴

This would appear to indicate that the local level may in future become increasingly important in providing the arena for formulating policing policy and that there may be even greater scope for groupings, such as the local authorities and CPFs, to play a role in influencing and guiding policing practice.

Co-ordination of crime prevention and multi-agency initiatives

The publication in 1996 of the NCPS reflected a far greater emphasis on crime prevention, as opposed to short term reactive law enforcement measures. However, at this stage much work still needs to be done in implementing crime prevention measures and in developing an understanding of how various groupings at the local level can best contribute to crime prevention.

In addition to the different groupings involved in the provision of policing services, there is a wide range of potential groupings which can contribute to crime prevention. What is required, however, is that the linkages and co-ordination between these different bodies are improved, and those agencies most capable of contributing to specific types of programmes are identified.

The range of initiatives which can potentially be undertaken in the name of crime prevention is quite extensive. The choice of initiative therefore needs to be guided by a well-informed analysis of what the priorities are for engaging in crime prevention in each local area.

One of the critical issues here relates to how social programmes such as programmes aimed at young people who are regarded as at risk of being drawn into criminal activities can most effectively contribute to crime prevention. In other countries, programmes of this kind, such as training programmes, the provision of assistance to people in finding jobs or the provision of recreational programmes for young people, are regarded as an important part of crime prevention.

Certain types of programmes which contribute to crime prevention may actually be delivered most effectively if different agencies can co-operate in designing and implementing them. In particular, it has been argued that local authorities have a potentially crucial role to play in crime prevention on the grounds that they control "important services and resources which need to be committed in accordance with a multi-agency strategy for community safety."¹⁵

This approach is also encouraged in the NCPS which states that local government should initiate a "multi-agency co-ordinating committee" for the purposes of dealing with crime prevention. The NCPS suggests that this committee could comprise of representatives of local authority structures, the SAPS, CPFs, local offices or divisions of government departments, such as Welfare, Education, Housing, Health, and Justice, as well as appropriate NGOs.

Certain government departments, such as Justice, are not part of local government and therefore local authority initiatives need to include role-players from other levels ofgovernment. Furthermore, many local authorities are currently facing a severe resource shortage and particular attention needs to be paid to the issue of mobilising resources for the financing of this type of initiative.

What is also important is to include an evaluation component in such crime prevention programmes. Processes of evaluation can be used to measure the effectiveness of such programmes, to identify `best practices', and to assist in implementing similar programmes in other localities.

Examples were given above of initiatives in Johannesburg and Pretoria that involve a variety of bodies, such as local government and provincial or national government departments. These represent practical examples of a multi-agency approach to crime prevention.

Community involvement and vigilantism

Press reports and other sources of information reveal a variety of forms of participation by members of the community in safety and security-related activities. In addition to the wide number of communities where CPFs are operating, other forms of participation include:

Neighbourhood watch programmes these may simply involve residents in an area `keeping an eye' on what is going on in the neighbourhood and on their neighbours' properties.



Police reservists they are provided with basic training by the SAPS and engage in part-time policing activities with the requirement that they make a minimum commitment of eight hours per month.



Soweto Youth Action Against Crime this is a group of volunteers who help police by identifying and tracing criminals. As one member puts it "we know who [the criminals] are, where they live and what they do." They are therefore often in a position to lead the police to criminal suspects.¹⁶



Community involvement in prisons organisations in Gauteng are developing a programme which is intended to assist in establishing links between prisoners and the community, and reintegrating them into the community. The value of such a programme is that it recognises that, after their release, prisoners are expected to resume normal lives as law-abiding citizens.

Despite the variety of forms of community involvement, participation by community members in crime prevention is often fairly limited. Furthermore, even where community members arenot directly involved in crime, they often engage in activities which effectively support and encourage crime, for instance, by purchasing stolen goods.

An issue for the police, as well as other role-players in the community, is therefore how to involve community members most effectively in contributing to crime prevention. This is particularly important due to the fact that, in some communities, there is a problem with people taking the law into their own hands and in certain cases coming into open confrontation with the police. Partly as a result of police ineffectiveness and other inadequacies in the operation of the criminal justice system, the application of `informal justice' by community members continues to be widespread in South Africa. The problem is also in part related to the legacy of apartheid, where official structures neglected the provision of policing services in black areas.

There are thus both positive and negative forms of community involvement in the fight against crime. Where the involvement of the community in responding to crime extends to vigilantism, this involvement itself becomes part of the problem of criminality. Groupings which are involved in taking up safety and security issues therefore need to direct their energy towards activities which contribute towards strengthening the criminal justice system, rather than undermining it. Community activities which amount to vigilantism and `mob justice' need to be firmly opposed. Despite the difficulties faced by CPFs, it is important nevertheless to recognise the potentially valuable role that can be played by members of the community through effective participation in these structures and in other activities which operate within the framework of the law.

INTEGRATED PLANNING AND SAFETY AND SECURITY: BUILDING SAFER COMMUNITIES

Planning processes can assist in ensuring that issues of safety and security are addressed as part of the process of development at the local level. Particularly within a context of the limited availability of resources, integrated planning can attempt to eliminate the unnecessary and wasteful use of resources and the duplication of functions.

Some of the range of safety and security issues which need to be addressed as part of the process of integrated local planning have been illustrated above. These included issues dealing with the consequences of development for safety and security, environmental design, the provision of effective services for maintenance and repair, security issues related to the opportunities for criminality which arise in the development process, as well as the potential for development to generate conflict and therefore the requirement that development processes are to be mediated and facilitated.

There are also other issues which should be addressed so that the planning process can contribute most effectively to safety and security.

The need for information gathering processes to be used to identify crime patterns and crime rates

As indicated, information gathered by the police is often inadequate as a means of finding out what the crime situation is in any particular area, for various reasons. Information gathering processes, such as door-to-door surveys, can however be fairly costly. Options which could be considered include:

information gathering processes which are already being conducted at the local level to gather information about patterns of victimisation; and



using a combination of information sources. One study of crime prevention at the `small area, or neighbourhood level' recommends that the following sources can be used: observations of street activity; demographic (census) data; police data, including those on offences and calls made to the police (calls to emergency numbers, such as 10111 and ordinary calls to the police station); and a limited survey of local people.¹⁷

While there are problems associated with police data, as the main form of routinely collected information on crime, their value should not be underestimated. Consideration could therefore be given to the issue of how data collection by the police could be improved in a manner which enables it to be used more effectively in crime prevention. Where different role-players are involved in policing activities (for instance both the SAPS and traffic or municipal police services), the issue of co-ordinating information processing and collection will also have to be addressed.

The provision of support services for victims of crime

Options which could be considered include:

evaluating the shortcomings of the police and the justice system in their dealings with victims;



motivating the police to undertake a programme of in-service training to improve their treatment of victims;



prioritising victim support as one of the issues on the agenda of the CPF;



identifying role-players in the community who can assist with the provision of victim support, whether on a voluntary or professional basis;



where those involved in victim support do not have a professional background such as in social work or psychology, the issue of training and selection will also have to be addressed;



establishing a system for victims of crime to be referred to or contacted by those involved in providing support services.

One further possibility is that those involved in the provision of services to victims could play a role in the monitoring of police services by debriefing victims on issues dealing with the quality of the service provided to them by the police.

Issues of access to police services and co-ordination between different groupings involved in the provision of police services

The issue of access to police services includes the question of where police stations are situated, as well as staffing and resource levels at each police station. However, what needs to be addressed is not only the issue of whether policing resources in that community are provided at an appropriate level (in terms of the size of the area, the number of people living in the area, and the level of crime in that area), but also problems which might prevent these resources from being used in the optimum manner. For instance, if police vehicles are consistently being used for personal purposes by police officials, or they are not able to take statements properly, or dockets are being sold by corrupt police officials, then these are the problems that need to be addressed and not merely those to do with the level of resources (such as the number of police officials or vehicles) at the police station.

This task may become more complex where different role-players are involved in the provision of policing services, as issues dealing with co-operation and co-ordination between the different role-players have to be addressed. One of the dangers is that the existence of a range of role-players may make it increasingly difficult to hold specific groupings, such as the SAPS, responsible for failures or shortcomings in the provision of policing services. It will therefore be increasingly important to identify exactly who is responsible for the co-ordination role and to ensure that this party is accountable overall to ensure that police services are provided effectively.

Issues referring to the lack of alignment between policing and local authority boundaries have already been alluded to as potentially complicating factors, in that they make it additionally difficult to clarify exactly what policing services are available in a particular area. In order for the provision of policing services to be co-ordinated and planned effectively, this will also have to be addressed. Furthermore, if the co-ordination and planning of the provision of policing services are to be conducted on a strategic basis, then reliable crime information will be necessary. As indicated above, this means that the issue of interaction between the different role-players in the gathering and processing of crime information, will also have to be dealt with.

Organisational transformation, particularly in relation to local authority departments involved in safety and security

If local authority traffic and security departments are going to play an increasingly important role in crime prevention, attention will have to be paid to ensure that the quality of service provided by these agencies is of a satisfactory nature. Otherwise the involvement of local authorities in safety and security could amount to a continuation of the kitskonstabel tradition where poorly trained 'municipal' police where used by the apartheid government as a quick-fix solution to the problem of defending unpopular local councils against popular unrest and resistance.

For instance, while the concept of community policing is being used as a tool for transforming the SAPS into a community-friendly service, issues dealing with the relationship between municipal agencies and the community also need to be addressed. In addition, much attention has been paid to corruption in the SAPS, but the problem is also widespread in many traffic departments and therefore also needs to be addressed within these, and other local authority departments.

The organisational transformation of local authority departments involved in the provision of safety and security has a number of potential components. These include:

organisational restructuring;



affirmative action and employment practices;



training of personnel in order for them to play an effective role in crime prevention;



the impact of the new Constitution and the Bill of Rights and the concept of 'community policing' on the role to be played by municipal agencies in policing;



ethics and the problem of corruption; and



addressing issues related to ensuring that the activities of these agencies are co-ordinated with other local authority agencies and other role-players in policing and safety and security.

The implementation of effective crime prevention programmes in terms of a multi-agency approach

Potential pitfalls include, on the one hand, the danger of establishing forums for co-ordinating crime prevention which serve as 'talk shops', but do not get anything done, and, on the other hand, the danger that initiatives undertaken in the name of crime prevention do not actually contribute to reduce or prevent crime.

While there are a wide range of potential initiatives, the challenge is to identify those initiatives which have the greatest potential to impact on the crime situation. Particular consideration should be given to how local authority and other agencies can co-operate in implementing social programmes, such as those aimed at addressing the problems faced by young people, thereby assisting them in developing non-criminal lifestyles.

Ideally, planning measures should not only focus on how services and programmes can be provided to community members, but also on developing an environment in which community members are encouraged to become involved in the building of networks of mutual assistance, security and support.

ENDNOTES

This article draws extensively, but not exclusively, from research which was conducted by the author as part of the Nedcor Project on Crime Violence and Investment and originally included, in the Main Report of the Nedcor Project, June 1996, and in a report entitled Local Authority Crime Prevention Initiatives in Gauteng, 1996.



The term _safety and security issues_ refers to issues which relate directly to crime and crime prevention. The initiatives which are focused on, are ones which are intended to contribute directly to the prevention of crime.



Inter-departmental Strategy Team, National Crime Prevention Strategy, Department of Safety and Security, Pretoria, May 1996, p.16.



Ibid., p.18.



The national legislation referred to in Section 205(2) , is the South African Police Service Act, No 68 of 1995. Chapter 7 (community police forums) and Chapter 12 (municipal policing) are particularly important with regard to safety and security issues at the local level and are referred to in the article.



SAPS, Community Policing, Draft Policy Framework, August 1996.



D M Yach, Case Studies on Community Policing: The British Experience, in P Ncholo, Towards Democratic Policing, Community Peace Foundation, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, 1994; note that this article refers to Community Police Consultative Forums in Britain _ the points are nevertheless relevant to South Africa_s CPFs.



Gauteng Ministry of Safety and Security, Safety Lung for the Central Business District of Johannesburg, Pretoria, 1996.



Inter-departmental Strategy Team, op. cit., p. 85.



The Constitution provides in Section 206(7) that "national legislation must provide a framework for the establishment, powers, functions and control of municipal police services."



The SAPS Act deals with municipal and metropolitan police services in Chapter 12. It provides that any local government may establish a metropolitan or municipal police service subject to the provisions of the Constitution and the SAPS Act itself (Section 64(1)), that the Minister of Safety and Security may make regulations regarding the establishment of municipal and metropolitan police services (Section 64(2)(b)) and that the Minister may also prescribe which provisions of the SAPS Act are to apply to such police services (Section 64(2)(a)).



Durban has a municipal police service (the Durban City Police) which was established in the last century.



Note that the provisions of the SAPS Act include a provision (Section 64(6)) that, where a metropolitan or municipal police service has been established, "such service shall be represented by at least one of its members ... on every community police forum or sub-forum established in terms of section 19 in its area of jurisdiction."



Department of Safety and Security, SAPS 1996/97 Police Plan, Pretoria, 1996, pp. 3 and 8.



Morgan Report, Standing Conference on Crime Prevention: Safer Communities _ The Local Delivery of Crime Prevention through the Partnership Approach, Home Office, London, 1991.



Paying the Price for Keeping their Community Safe, The Star, 30 November 1996.



J Shapland, P Wiles & P Wilcox, Targeted Crime Reduction for Local Areas _ Principles and Methods, Home Office, London, 1994.