8 December 2023
Limpopo is the first province where the agricultural and rural communities, in collaboration with the police, have agreed on a rural safety strategy implementation plan.
In the coming weeks, rural residents of Limpopo will embark on a plan that formalises their role in combating crime and holds the police accountable.
This follows the presentation of a draft plan for the implementation of the province’s rural safety strategy at a meeting in Polokwane at the end of November.
The police and the chairperson of the Limpopo rural safety forum, Douw Pelser, tabled the implementation plan for deliberation by farmers’ associations, police officers, farmworkers and other provincial organisations.
The provincial police commissioner, Lt-Gen Thembi Hadebe, apologised to farmers for cases where the police had fallen short and urged them to report problem cases to her.
The implementation is a guideline for the province’s districts – Waterberg, Capricorn, Mopanie, Sekhukhune and Vhembe – and policing areas within the districts.
Each district and police station is now responsible for developing its own plan based on the guidelines, taking into account local stakeholders, circumstances, agricultural activities and community composition.
During the one-day workshop to introduce and discuss the implementation plan at the district level, deputy provincial police commissioner Maj-Gen Jan Scheepers said rural safety extends beyond farms.
“It is a strategy that the police developed with representatives of all people in rural areas. This includes farmers, farmworkers, people in settlements and traditional authorities – anyone working in a rural environment where the police could not establish sector policing.”
He also told farmers and other community representatives that they should not think crime prevention is solely the responsibility of the police. “Every citizen has a responsibility to work together to ensure that we are all safe,” Scheepers said.
Hadebe acknowledged what rural communities are doing to keep themselves and their environment safe with limited resources. “I see how crime affects you, how severe stock theft affects you in this province,” she said. “I realise how destructive stock theft is for smaller farmers who own only a few animals.”
Hadebe and Scheepers said it is the police’s responsibility to ensure farmers are safe and that their farms are not crippled by crime, but they cannot do it alone.
“We need your help, and that’s why this deliberation today is necessary. We need a joint plan to tackle crime in the rural areas of our province,” Hadebe said.
Scheepers explained that over the next few weeks, after the plan’s introduction, it should be discussed at the level of farmers’ associations and police stations. Each district must then develop and implement its own security strategy according to the guidelines of the plan.
According to Hadebe, deliberations on the implementation plan will show what is needed to keep Limpopo’s agricultural community safe. “Farmers and the police must refine this draft plan together until we have a workable action plan that everyone can support.”
Police can do better
Chastising police officers, she said that while one of the major gaps in rural crime is thorough investigative work, she didn’t see detectives in the room. “I think they should give the agricultural community an undertaking of what they are going to do to deliver better results from police investigations.”
She admitted that many cases could be better investigated. Often, failures were due to limited resources, but sometimes they were because police officers didn’t do their best.
“Bring these issues to our attention so that we can address them,” said Hadebe. “Problem areas have come to my attention recently, and I’m sorry to say the police have let the farmers down in cases of wildlife and livestock theft. We will address it.
“We realise we often fall short when it comes to your policing needs, and we see how you stand by us. We appreciate it. This also applies to the way it is often the agricultural community that provides resources and equipment where the police do not have it or it is not functioning properly.”
Scheepers said the implementation plan requires farmers to chair rural safety committees because police officers are often moved or promoted and continuity suffers as a result.
Some farmers in the province are suspicious of police involvement in crime, making them reluctant to engage with security structures, and Scheepers and Hadebe conceded there is some reason for this suspicion in certain cases.
But Scheepers said the “bad apples” can be identified only when a relationship of trust is built between the police, farmers, farmworkers and people in rural settlements.
“Criminal elements thrive in the discord between us. Solidarity is not in their interest, but the only way we will win the battle is if we set aside our differences and pull together in one direction.”
How the rural safety plan works
The plan provides a blueprint for communities to collaborate in addressing crime and its root causes. Structures and committees must be established in each district and policing area through which the rural safety plan can be managed.
Representatives in each rural community must identify and evaluate risks, security issues and crime incidents so plans can be drawn up and steps taken to address these risks.
Contingency plans for natural disasters and other external risks must also be developed based on actions during previous veld fires, floods and disease outbreaks.
The types of crime occurring in an area must be identified, and the factors behind such crimes – such as socioeconomic or sociopolitical circumstances – must be analysed.
Rural security structures must then consider what role local authorities, community institutions, non-government organisations and private security companies can play in attempting to address the factors fuelling crime on farms and in settlements.
Assist the police
The reality of limited resources and specialised response capabilities among police units must be considered, the plan points out.
Therefore, it is crucial for community members, especially farmers, to know how to “preserve” crime scenes, apprehend and detain suspects and handle medical emergencies.
Security structures must reflect on ways to gather and evaluate information about possible gang and syndicate activities.
People must have the confidence to report crimes to the police and investigators must keep complainants informed of progress with their inquiries. Farm watches, neighbourhood watches and street watch committees must be established.
The rural security structures must determine the required involvement and conditions for membership of such initiatives.
Each community’s resources and capacity to respond to emergencies must be thoroughly considered in the local security plan.
The implementation plan also provides guidelines for better cooperation between farmers, communities, the police and other institutions, creating volunteer systems for crime prevention activities and training rural communities in crime prevention.
