Policemen on patrol in a rural area. (Archive photo: SA Police)
Almost four years after the rural security plan by the Minister of Police launched is, its implementation still seems to be struggling to get off the ground.
The parliamentary portfolio committee on police was informed on Wednesday of the implementation of the plan, which has already been dusted off several times, but has still never been fully implemented at all police stations.
DA MP Andrew Whitfield says that while crime in rural areas is rising sharply, only 808 out of 1,155 police stations have so far implemented the plan, while 63 stations have still only partially done so.
“While the police drag their feet with the implementation of the strategy, we have seen a wave of farm murders, robberies on farms, mass murders in rural settlements and livestock theft which is allowed to continue unchecked in rural areas,” he says.
This is reflected in the 2021-22 financial year’s crime figures which show that a total of 25,001 incidents of livestock theft were reported. That’s an average of 68 incidents every day. In the first three quarters of 2022-23, 21,244 incidents of livestock theft were reported; that’s more than 77 incidents a day.
“In the Northern Cape, more than half of police stations have not yet introduced the rural security plan and in KwaZulu-Natal 23% of stations have not done so either. Out of the top 30 police stations regarding livestock theft, 13 are in KwaZulu-Natal and nine in the Eastern Cape,” says Whitfield.
“More evidence of a lack of implementation of the national rural security plan is that only 34% of all livestock thefts ended with an arrest, with the prosecution rate probably even lower.”
General Fannie Masemola, national police chief, admitted that there are definitely challenges with policing in rural areas – especially in areas that are difficult to access.
“In some areas it takes up to two hours to cover 20 kilometres. A suspect sees you coming from afar and by the time the police get there, the suspect is long gone,” he says.
In response to a question about the deployment of the correct vehicles for a specific site, Masemola said that a scope survey is carried out regularly and where the wrong type of vehicle is used in an area, it is eventually replaced with a suitable one.
He also conceded that the police have limited air support, but says that helicopters are used, among other things, to provide support in rural areas during operations. The police’s technology management services division is also in the process of acquiring drones and training police officers in their use so that they can be used as an additional tool in the fight against crime.
By the end of next month, the police is expected to complete a comprehensive evaluation of its livestock theft and endangered species units as part of the full implementation of the rural security plan.
Maj. Gen. Susan Pienaar told MPs this week that the recommendations that will be made after the investigation will include an analysis of any shortage of resources (people and goods), as well as an indication of the workload of officers and any other challenges at the unit.
“In two months we will be able to give feedback on the deployment of the specific equipment,” said the general.
According to Pienaar, an analysis was also carried out at all police stations to determine what their service requirements are, how many posts should be allocated to a specific police station and how staff members should be redeployed to ensure that police stations are properly manned at all times.
“The analysis was done to determine the minimum staffing levels of each of these stations and to adjust the job allocation per province,” says Pienaar.
“The rural and agricultural economy is of the utmost importance to ensure the prosperity, food security and natural diversity of South Africa. It is therefore essential that the police work closely with its partners in government and civil society to ensure the safety of rural communities across South Africa.”
During the meeting, MPs also emphasized that the police – especially in remote areas – will only win the fight against crime with the help of communities.
“Although we welcome an increase in the number of police officers, we know that there is a challenge with capacity to effectively implement the strategy,” says Tina Joemat-Pettersson, committee chairman.
“One of the biggest challenges is this lack of capacity, especially within the crime intelligence environment, to properly drive an intelligence-driven strategy.”
According to the committee, the police must ensure that proper resources are available, even in remote and inaccessible areas, so that it can sustainably respond to any situation and anywhere.
