Towards a Safety Strategy for the Education and Heritage Components of the Greater Kliptown Development Project

by

Gareth Newham

Research report written for the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, March 2004.

Gareth Newham is a former Project Manager in the Criminal Justice Programme at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation.

Contents Executive Summary 1. Introduction 2. Towards an Effective Safety Strategy    2.1 Why a Crime Prevention Approach    2.2 Key Factors for Crime Prevention Approaches    2.3 Key Components of a Crime Prevention Strategy 3. Crime and Safety in Kliptown    3.1 Priority Crime and Safety Concerns    3.1.1 Robbery and aggravated robbery    3.1.2 Theft out of and from motor vehicles    3.1.3 Burglary    3.1.4 Common and Aggravated Assault    3.1.5 Informal Settlements    3.2 Community Structures and Crime Prevention    3.2.1 The Kliptown Community Police Forum (CPF)    3.2.2 Challenges 4. A Kliptown Safety Strategy    4.1 Developing a Local Crime Prevention Strategy    4.2 Components of a Community Safety Strategy 5. Conclusion 6. References

Executive Summary

This document aims to present a strategic approach towards a sustainable safety strategy for the heritage, education and tourism components of the Greater Kliptown Development Project. The approach presented is referred to as a 'Community Safety Strategy'. As the name implies, the strategy is to link the safety and security of the development sites to the safety and security concerns of the Kliptown community. The reason for following such a strategy is that it could serve to build a sense of community ownership and therefore promote community responsibility for the safety of the development sites. The document outlines the key principles and components of such a strategy before presenting the key safety concerns as identified through primary research with relevant representatives of the Kliptown community. In conclusion practical suggestions are presented that could become part of the three key components of a 'Community Safety Strategy'.

A 'Community Safety Strategy' seeks to adhere to the principles of what is termed the 'crime prevention' approach to enhanced safety. This approach differs from a 'law enforcement' approach which seeks to reduce crime only through policing activities aimed at deterring criminals. In recognising that such an approach has generally failed to reduce crime in a sustainable manner, the 'crime prevention approach' has started to emerge internationally as a better alternative. Such an approach addresses safety problems differently in that it seeks to identify and address the particular factors that converge to promote the occurrence of criminal incidents in a given locality. Consequently, crime prevention does not reject the role of effective 'law enforcement' but rather recognises the police as but one of a number of important role players, and policing as but one of a number of activities that have to be considered towards ensuring sustainable local safety and security.

The 'crime prevention' approach recognises that there are different reasons behind the occurrence of different types of criminal incidents. Therefore different solutions have to be developed to address different crimes. However, it is also recognised that there are three common factors that converge for criminal incident to occur. These factors include the existence of a victim or crime target, the existence of a perpetrator and the existence of particular physical environmental characteristics that allow for the criminal incident to take place and the perpetrator to escape capture. To effectively enhance safety, a detailed analysis needs to be conducted in relation to these three factors for each specific type of crime that has been identified as the target for prevention. It is very seldom that one agency can address all of the factors that contribute to a crime problem. Therefore, it is important to engage with a number of relevant stake-holders from the public and private spheres when formulating and implementing crime prevention initiatives. For all aspects of a crime type to be adequately addressed, crime prevention initiatives should include activities clustered within the three following interrelated components, namely 'law enforcement', 'situational crime prevention' and 'social crime prevention'.

Primary research undertaken amongst senior members of the Kliptown Community Police Forum (CPF), and the South African Police Service (SAPS) revealed that key crime concerns in the area include various types of armed and unarmed robbery, theft from motor vehicles, burglary and assault. A brief crime prevention analysis highlighted the common characteristics relating to the victims, perpetrators and the physical environment for each of the priority crime concerns mentioned. An important finding emanating from the research was that reported crime has shown a consistent reduction in Kliptown over the previous two years with further reductions apparent in the first part of this year. Participants in the research attributed this to increased community awareness and mobilisation against crime and better policing strategies in Kliptown. Nevertheless, the above mentioned crime types were still occurring regularly and could increase with a growth in the numbers of people coming into the area as a result of the developments.

Strengths that were identified for the development and implementation of a Kliptown 'Community Safety Strategy' included the existence of established and networked community based structures linked to the CPF. Such structures could play an important role with regards to facilitating community acceptance and participation in the strategy. The Kliptown police station also had detailed statistics and analytical capacity that would allow for the effective monitoring of crime trends and evaluation of crime prevention initiatives that may be undertaken. While some challenges were identified with regard to the CPF and community police relations, these were not insurmountable and could be overcome through practical initiatives that could form part of the strategy.

It was argued and suggestions were made as to the types of further research and analysis that would have to be undertaken to ensure that the relevant factors associated with priority crime concerns in the area are properly identified and adequately addressed. Nevertheless, a number of recommendations were presented and clustered within the three interrelated 'law enforcement', 'situational prevention' and 'social prevention' components of a Community Safety Strategy. The recommendations were designed to provide practical suggestions that would ensure both increased community and police ownership and responsibility for the sustainable safety of the heritage, education and tourism sites of the Greater Kliptown Development Project.

1. Introduction

The purpose of this document is to present an approach towards developing a safety strategy for the heritage, education and tourism components of the Greater Kliptown Development Project. As a development initiative that will potentially attract many domestic and international visitors, it is imperative that safety and security issues related to the site are considered and addressed in a sustainable manner. This document will present a strategic approach whereby the safety of the sites is linked to the concerns of the community, thereby promoting a sense of community 'ownership' and 'responsibility' for the development.

This document will be structured in the following manner. Firstly, a conceptual approach towards developing a safety strategy will be outlined. This approach is based on the principles of crime prevention that seeks to ensure safety in a sustainable manner. It does this through focusing an analysis of the security and safety concerns on their root causes. As these causes are usually complex in nature, this approach emphasises the potential roles of a variety of different agencies and demonstrates how different initiatives can simultaneously address key security concerns.

The second part of this document presents some of the key safety and security concerns that currently hold sway in Kliptown. The information contained in this section comes from focus groups and in-depth interviews with senior South African Police Service officials based at the Kliptown police station and members of the Kliptown Community Policing Forum. The findings present insights into the victims, perpetrators, and environmental factors that support criminal incidents in the Kliptown area. Furthermore, insight into the existing community structures involved in crime prevention and some of the challenges facing them will be presented.

Thirdly, a 'Community Safety Approach' will be further unpacked as a recommended option for developing a safety strategy for the educational and heritage sites. This will be done by providing practical examples as to how the strategic approach presented will promote a situation whereby the community of Kliptown will become invested in ensuring the safety and security of the developments.

2. Towards an Effective Safety Strategy

This section will provide an approach for developing a Safety Strategy with regards to crime. Typically a safety strategy will want to identify programmes or activities that will prevent crime from happening. This may be of particular concern where new developments could result in an influx of criminal elements that were not prevalent before the development took place.

2.1 Why a Crime Prevention Approach

Strategies aimed at preventing crimes before they happen are usually termed 'crime prevention' strategies. Such an approach can be juxtaposed against traditionally termed 'tough on crime' or 'law enforcement' strategies that seek to reduce crime through identifying, arresting and prosecuting or sanctioning perpetrators so as to increase deterrence against criminal behaviour. Whereas this approach has an important role to play for enhancing safety, it is seldom sufficient to ensure sustainable safety as it tends to react to an already occurring crime problem and fails to deal the key reasons as to why crime occurs in a particular locality.

Throughout the past few decades the role of the police and criminal justice system in reducing or preventing crime has been recognised as woefully inadequate. Empirical studies have demonstrated that increased policing activities, along with improved conviction and incarceration rates have not necessarily resulted in a commiserate decrease in crime (See Bayley, 1994 or Reiner, 1985). Indeed, a number of studies have demonstrated that the 'best predictors of crime' include such factors as employment status, household income levels, education levels, family structures, and gender and age ratios in a particular community¹ (Bayley, 1994, p. 10). These are factors that the police and the criminal justice system as a whole have very little influence over, but some studies have shown can contribute as much as 90% to the differences in levels of crime between communities (ibid).

This does not mean that the police or policing as an activity do not have a meaningful role to play in reducing crime. Rather, because police typically only react to crime incidents once they have already happened, they are generally unable to prevent crime from occurring. However, as they possess detailed knowledge of crime types and perpetrators' modus operandi, they are but one of the important role-players towards ensuring community safety.

Crime prevention as an approach has been defined as anything that 'involves the disruption of mechanisms which cause crime' (Pease, 1997, p. 963). Given the complex range of factors that can contribute to crime, a wide range of theories and practices about how to prevent it have emerged. At a broad theoretical level crime prevention approaches have typically been categorised along the following lines:

• Primary crime prevention – Such an approach tends to focus on circumstances (i.e. social and physical settings) in which crime occurs.
• Secondary crime prevention – this approach seeks to identify and intervene amongst individuals who are at greatest risk of embarking upon a criminal career before they do so.
• Tertiary crime prevention – tends to focus changing those who have already embarked on a career of crime.

Out of these three approaches, it is typically the 'primary crime prevention' that has had the most success in crime reduction (Pease, 1994, p. 969). Most of the successes of such crime prevention projects are as a result of a sound understanding of the causes of the crime that is the target of a prevention approach.

2.2 Key Factors for Crime Prevention Approaches

Typically crime is not caused by any single event but rather results from a combination of different factors. It has commonly been recognised that there are three key factors that determine whether or not a crime will occur (National Crime Prevention Centre, 2000, p. 6). These include:

• Victims/ targets: Someone or something is always the target of a perpetrator. Crime prevention projects should consider what makes victims or property vulnerable or attractive targets for offenders;
• Offenders: There are always reasons as to why an individual chooses, or is able to commit a crime. Crime prevention projects could focus on addressing factors that contribute to offenders being able to commit crimes;
• The environment: There are always physical environmental factors that enable perpetrators to commit criminal acts and then escape without being caught. Crime prevention projects should focus on changing the physical environment in ways that reduce the opportunities for crime to occur.

In public spaces and local communities there are always a wide variety of combinations of the above factors that can contribute to the possibility for crime to take place. It is very rare that any single role-player can address all the relevant factors to address any specific crime type. Consequently, successful crime prevention strategies and programmes usually require the cooperation of different agencies and stakeholders.

To enhance safety in any locality, combined efforts are usually needed from among the following stakeholders (National Crime Prevention Centre, 2000, p. 6):

• Law enforcement agencies – police and prosecution agencies are needed to ensure that there are appropriate consequences for breaking the law and compromising safety. The police can also provide detailed information on specific crime types and security shortcomings.
• Municipalities – to take responsibility for environmental factors that could contribute to crime (e.g. long grass or inadequate street lighting or fencing that allow for perpetrators to conceal themselves and escape following an attack).
• Community – to provide information on the profiles of suspects, the particular environmental factors that contribute to crime and to deter incidents by responding appropriately when alerted.
• Business – to provide skills and resources that can assist in the marketing and publicity of crime prevention programmes in particular neighbourhoods.
• NGOs – to contribute to crime reduction strategies through assisting with community consultation or assisting victims of crime.

2.3 Key Components of a Crime Prevention Strategy

As the causes of crime are complex, successful crime prevention and reduction strategies should attempt to combine a focus on the following three interrelated components (National Crime Prevention Centre, 2000, p. 7):

1. Law enforcement – This component refers to activities that enhance the risks for perpetrators in engaging in criminal activities. Typically these risks are associated with getting caught and sanctioned. If such risks are not evident, the effectiveness of the other components will be undermined. Examples include - promoting visible and targeted patrols or presence by the police or security guards; or enforcing by-law enforcement to improve the general sense of order in the environment.
2. Situational prevention – This typically refers to what is known as Crime Prevention through Environmental Design, or CPTED. This component focuses on the physical environmental factors that support criminal activities. Very simplistically it is sometimes understood as 'target hardening' (erecting high fences and walls). However can includes a focus on designing public spaces in a way that makes it more difficult for, or undermines the confidence of perpetrators to commit crimes and escape successfully. Examples include - improving street lighting; considering the layouts of transport nodes, buildings, parks, streets or pedestrian walkways in ways that reduce opportunities for crime.
3. Social prevention – This component calls for a focus on the social factors that contribute to individuals becoming involved in criminal activities. Examples include – programmes to prevent young people from dropping out of school, establishment of recreational facilities to occupy young people after school hours or victim support centres to minimise anger or socially destructive responses to victimisation.

3. Crime and Safety in Kliptown

This section will present the results of primary research that was undertaken to provide insights into to the key security issues facing Kliptown. The research consisted of the following activities undertaken by Gareth Newham and Oupa Makhalemele of CSVR:

• A focus group discussion held with six members of the Kliptown Community Policing Forum (CPF) held on 27 February 2004. Each of the participants represented a sub-structure of the CPF.
• A focus group discussion held on 4 March 2004 with senior representatives of the SAPS Kliptown police station and the Kliptown Community Policing Forum. The participants included the following:
  • the SAPS Kliptown Station Commissioner, Senior Superintendent N. E. Dudumashe,
  • the Head of the Crime Prevention Component, Superintendent Netshitangane,
  • the Head of Detectives, Captain M.J. Seloane,
  • the Chairperson of the Kliptown CPF, Mr. I. Buthelezi,
  • The Deputy Chairperson of the Kliptown CPF, Mr Julius Mdlalose
• An in-depth interview held on 9 March 2004 with the Head of Crime Intelligence Captain De Jager at the Kliptown police station.

During the focus groups and interviews questions were asked relating to the following issues:

• Identifying the key crime and safety concerns in Kliptown with particular focus on the CBD where the proposed heritage and tourism developments will take place. Focus included establishing trends and patterns for each of the priority crimes identified.
• Identifying the primary victims for each of the key crimes mentioned.
• Identifying the perpetrators of these crimes.
• Identifying key environmental and social factors that contribute to the existence of the key crimes.
• Identifying key factors that would reduce or prevent such crime from occurring.
• Identifying the various structures and stakeholders already in place and working to address crime and safety issues. This included a focus on the relative successes and shortcomings experienced with regards to these structures and role-players.

The results of the research will be presented below.

3.1 Priority Crime and Safety Concerns

During all the focus groups and interviews the following crimes were consistently mentioned as the key safety and security concerns in the Kliptown CBD and surrounds. The first three of these have particular relevance for tourists visiting the area and the museum. The last crime mentioned (assault) was largely as a result of high levels of domestic violence.

• Robbery and aggravating robbery
• Theft out of and from motor vehicles
• Burglary
• Assault

It must be noted that Tourists to the CBD do not appear to be the target of criminals. The Head of Crime Intelligence for Kliptown police station stated that there had not been a single reported incident of a crime incident against a tourist in the preceding two years despite frequent visits of tourists - some of whom wonder about the CBD with expensive cameras and equipment.² He put this down to 'positive interactions' between tourists and members of the community as some of the tourists give things to members of the community. It could be that as the tourists stand out and receive quite a bit of attention from various people, they would be risky targets as members of the community would be watching them and able to come to assistance if necessary.

Overall, crime was not presented by the police and CPF Chair and deputy-chair as a major problem in Kliptown and there was a sense that the situation was improving. However, the CPF focus group tended to think it was more of a problem. As CPF volunteers who are known throughout the community they would probably have more knowledge than most of the crime problems occurring. This is because victims or their friends and family would come to CPF members with concerns that would not necessarily be reported o the police or more generally known about.

The official statistics of reported crime to the SAPS over the past two years has been analysed by the criminal intelligence component of the Kliptown police station.³ Their crime trend analysis reveals a consistent decrease in all crimes from 2002. Better policing methods and community cooperation was mentioned as the reasons behind the decreases. The Crime Intelligence Commander did concede however, that it was possible that the various Kliptown developments could attract more of a criminal element to the area and he stated that he would not be surprised if this led to an increase in the number of crimes reported.

3.1.1 Robbery and aggravated robbery

The police define robbery as 'the unlawful and intentional forceful removal and appropriation of movable tangible property belonging to another'. Aggravated robbery is typically referred to as robbery with a firearm or robbery where the victim is seriously injured. These crimes are classified as contact crimes because there is direct contact between the perpetrator/s and the victim/s. These crimes are seen as particularly serious as there is the direct threat of force against the victim (usually with a weapon) which can lead to injury, trauma or both.

The most common form of robbery incidents in Kliptown are those referred to as 'snatch and grab' whereby a person (usually a woman) has a bag or jewellery forcibly taken by a single perpetrator. Usually the victim is trailed and at an opportune time the suspect runs past and grabs a particular item relying on the element of surprise to make off with the targeted item. These robberies typically take place in congested areas near the shops. In most incidents the victim is not hurt and no weapons are used. On average this crime mostly occurs in the Kliptown CBD area once a day or once every two days. While these incidents can occur at any time, the peak times for these crimes are Fridays between 10:00 am to 14:00 pm when the victims are visiting the shops during their lunch time.

Other victims are people walking from the railway line to and from the CBD. They are usually held up for their cell-phones⁴ or cash (with the typical amount stolen seldom over R1000). In these cases there are between two and three perpetrators armed usually with a knife and sometimes a firearm. Injuries are rare as victims tend to cooperate. The grass in the undeveloped area between the CBD and the railway line is long and the area is unlit so that it is very dark at night. This makes it ideal for perpetrators to hide and rob people out of view. The police stated that it was dangerous area and were hesitant to post officers in the area as they might be attacked and have their firearms stolen.

According to the CPF members, other victims include hawkers selling goods on the street and workers on nearby construction sites. These people tend not live outside of the area and do not report the crime to the police. Key times for this crime are between 5 to 9pm in the evening when the shops are closing and people are returning home from work. This crime also tends to increase at month end as people have been paid.

The perpetrators tend to run towards the railway line and escape into the nearby shacks that make up the informal settlements across the railway line nearby. From those that have been caught, the perpetrators tend to be young unemployed males around the age of 20 years. Most of them have dropped out of school from standard 5 to standard 7. Very few of those who have been caught are actually still attending or have completed school indicating a strong link between school drop outs and the proclivity towards criminal activity. Some of the perpetrators live in the informal settlements nearby to the CBD (those mentioned included 'Dlamini' and 'Charter Square'), while others come from other areas of Soweto to prey on people who frequent the shops in the Kliptown CBD. Typically the perpetrators come from poor families who cannot afford school fees. However, it was stated that the perpetrators are not engaging in these activities out of desperation (to pay for food or shelter) but for 'extras' such as nice clothes, shoes, drugs and alcohol.

While not unheard of, there are very few business robberies within the CBD and most of the aggravating robberies also tend to take place outside of CBD and mainly in the surrounding residential areas.

According to SAPS statistics for Kliptown, all forms of robbery have been consistently decreasing since 2002. The use of under-cover police officers who patrol the CBD was cited as one reason for the decrease in this crime type in that area. A number of arrests have been made and this has made 'snatch and grabs' an increasingly risky endeavour. Moreover, special operations conducted by the police (such as search and seizures – particularly for firearms, other weapons and stolen goods, road-blocks, and heightened patrolling of escape routes used by perpetrators) along the railway lines and in the surrounding informal settlements were seen as the reason behind the decreases in robbery more generally.

3.1.2 Theft out of and from motor vehicles

In Kliptown this crime occurs mostly in the CBD when a parked vehicle is broken into, either through picking the door lock (usually resulting in damage to the lock) or smashing a small side window. Property is then removed from the vehicle. Car radios are frequently the target, but any movable property (sun-glasses, cell-phones, clothing) can result in a vehicle being targeted. Some of the more serious cases involve firearms being stolen because they have been left under the seats or in the glove compartments of the vehicle. In some instances they leave their vehicles unlocked making it particularly easy for perpetrators to gain access

In Kliptown this crime mostly occurs in the CBD with a case being reported on average every two to three days. Once again the peak times for the occurrence of this crime is on Fridays between 10:00 to 14:00. The victims are usually people who drive into the CBD from other areas for the purposes of shopping. The perpetrators are young males who fit the same profiles as those who commit robberies. If spotted they tend to run across the railway line and disappear into the shacks making up the informal settlements. They appear to specialise in this type of crime as they are able to quickly open vehicle locks using various instruments. The speed with which they carry out these crimes suggests that they are experienced and that the crime is planned to some extent (probably through walking past the vehicle at least once to identify property in the vehicle and the type of door lock).

There are safe places to park vehicles with the 'Cash and Carry' and the medical centre being mentioned as places where these crimes do not occur. The reason is that there are 'car guards' that look after the vehicles while the owners are away. It was also mentioned that the vehicles with alarms are not usually targeted. Clearly, the perpetrators don't want an alarm to draw attention to them while breaking into a vehicle.

3.1.3 Burglary

Burglary typically refers to the unlawful and intentional entering of property for the purpose of theft. This used to be a problem within the CBD with shop owners finding their shops having been broken into. Part of the problem had to do with the age of the buildings. As they were very old it was quite easy for perpetrators of this crime to force their way into building premises. However, this problem has largely been solved in the CBD area due to an initiative called 'Business Watch' which was implemented whereby most shop owners banded together to hire guards to protect the shops during the night. Those shops without guards however, are still occasionally broken into. It was the view of the CPF members that the presence of guards acted as a deterrence to criminals. This crime usually happens over night when there are few people around in the CBD.

Other burglary occurs in the residential areas where perpetrators break into houses during the day while the occupants are at work. The suspect profiles are similar to those committing the other crimes. Another context in which burglaries are reported to the SAPS comes from building cites around Kliptown. However, in most of these cases it appears as if the thefts have been committed by the employees as the perpetrators have the knowledge to circumvent internal security precautions and steal relatively heavy equipment (e.g. electric generators and other machinery).

3.1.4 Common and Aggravated Assault

Common assault is defined by the SAPS as 'the unlawful and intentional – (a) direct or indirect application of force to the body of another person, or (b) threat of application of immediate personal violence to another under circumstances in which the threatened person is prevailed upon to believe that the person making the threat has the intention and power to carry it out'.⁵ Aggravated assault or 'assault GBH' defined as 'assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm'.⁶

Most of these types of crimes are as a result of domestic violence which appears to be a big problem in the area. It is difficult to get detailed information on this problem because, as was mentioned in the focus groups, so few victims report it to the police. CPF members tended to say that the problem was largely between young men and women who were not married.⁷ There was an element of alcohol abuse linked to it where most victims and perpetrators were drunk when abuse became public enough for neighbours to call the police. This hinders the ability of the police to deal with the matter because they cannot take statements from people under the influence of alcohol. By the next day once both parties have sobered up there is generally unwillingness by the victim to turn the matter over to the police. The head of Crime Intelligence remarked that not many cases were reported to the police but those that were seemed to be particularly brutal.

It was mentioned that an initiative from the Gauteng Provincial Department of Safety and Liaison called 'Project Kgotso' was to be launched in the near future in Kliptown to increase public education and awareness about domestic violence in the area. The project would include workshops with community structures, public lectures and a door-to-door campaign where leaflets would be handed out drawing people's attention to the Domestic Violence Act and contact details of organisations that could provide counselling and other forms of assistance to victims.

When assault was spoken about it also tended to lead onto the topic of rape. While not a crime that is reported often in Kliptown, it does get reported from time to time - if only a few times a month. However, it is a crime where reporting levels are particularly low. Participants in the focus groups and interviews both linked incidents of rape to the shebeens and Taverns that sell liquor in the area. It was stated that most of the victims had spent time drinking at the Shebeens and are attacked on their way home. That the victims are attacked some distance away from the shebeens makes it difficult for the police to determine the extent to which the perpetrators are linked to the Shebeens or not.

3.1.5 Informal Settlements

The informal settlements that are located near to the Kliptown CBD were repeatedly mentioned as providing shelter for escaping perpetrators of criminal acts. However, it was not stated that this is where the criminals were necessary living. It was generally mentioned that the perpetrators were from other areas and came to Kliptown to prey on people in the CBD. Apparently those who live in Kliptown and are involved in criminal activities go to other areas to commit crimes as they will not easily be identified by their victims in the area where they live. However, the informal settlements provide shelter in that the roads were very narrow and the shacks congested making it easy for perpetrators to hide. The residents generally don't assist the police when suspects are chased into the settlement. Partly this is because of residents fearing retaliation from the suspect if they inform the police. It could also be due to a lack of trust in the police. The SAPS stated that it was very difficult for them to attend to complaints or calls for assistance in the settlements as the roads were too narrow for their vehicles and there are no street names. Particularly at night there is no street lighting and it is very dark.

3.2 Community Structures and Crime Prevention

It is important to identify the various anti-crime structures and initiatives that are already taking place in a locality. This will assist with identifying potential partners that can contribute to a safety strategy for the development. It also prevents the duplication of initiatives and can provide information as to what appears to be working and certain challenges that still need to be addressed. This section will briefly present the types of community structures that are involved in tackling crime in the Kliptown area and some of the challenges that were being faced.

3.2.1 The Kliptown Community Police Forum (CPF)

The Kliptown CPF was established in 1995 when it first became policy in the SAPS to ensure that each police station established such a forum. According the participants of the focus groups the Kliptown CPF executive structure holds meetings once a month. These occur on the second Monday of every month during the evening staring at 7pm and ending at around 9:30 pm. Anywhere from 50 to 100 people and community representatives attend these meetings. Usually there about 10 police members, including the Station Commissioner from the Kliptown police station who attend the meetings.⁸

It was stated that all the relevant 'anti-crime' structures are represented at the CPF which constitutes a 'mother body' in the Kliptown. There are 17 sub-structures that send representatives to the CPF executive meeting. Kliptown is divided up into eight (8) zones. Each zone has its own community policing sub-structure that sends representatives to the monthly executive CPF meeting. Other initiatives such as 'Business watch, and 'Shebeen Owners', Youth and Churches structures are also in place and represented at the CPFs. The Shebeen owners have signed a 'code of conduct' to try and limit the impact that alcohol has in community based violence.

The remaining sub-structures appear to consist of local initiatives such as 'street committees' and 'neighbourhood watch structures'. These are specific structures that started independently over time where groups of people started patrolling certain areas, commonly referred to as 'hot-spots' to make it risky for criminals to operate in certain neighbourhoods. Such groups can start engaging in vigilante activities which can in turn undermine community safety and cohesion but fortunately this has not been the case. While such groups may 'rough criminal suspects up', the SAPS confirmed that no serious incidents have occurred in Kliptown.

At CPF meetings the SAPS provide information related to criminal incidents over the previous month. The sub-structures then present information as to particular concerns that they experience in their particular areas. Furthermore, CPF members provide the SAPS with 'information notes' in relation to criminal activities that they are aware of. The CPF executives were quite vague when responding to particular initiatives that they have been involved in with regards to crime prevention. It was mentioned that a 'Crime Prevention Strategy programme' was in place. However, other than establishing structures (an important step) and general information campaigns, little other concrete activity was mentioned.

3.2.2 Challenges

Certain tensions with regards to the CPF were apparent during the focus group with the ordinary CPF representatives. There were complaints that the relationship between the CPF and the SAPS was generally 'poor'. There were few projects being implemented by the CPF structures and there was a feeling amongst some that the meetings were a 'waste of time' as little was actually achieved. The information that CPFs gave to the police relating to crime appeared to be a double edged sword. On one hand it was cited as proof of the close cooperation between the community through the CPF and the police, while on the other hand it was cited as an issue that led mistrust between the CPF representatives and certain sections of the community (particularly perpetrators and their friends and families).

A particular problem highlighted was that of apathy and corruption on the side of many police members.⁹ While it was conceded that not all the police were involved, there was a feeling that too many police members were breaking regulations (specifically drinking in shebeens while in uniform and being involved in gambling). More serious complaints related to some police members being open to taking bribes from criminal suspects involved in drug dealing and robbery not to affect an arrest or to release them once arrested. On the other hand, the police complained that sometimes after suspects are released on bail, community members mistakenly think that the police have released them after taking a bribe. Nevertheless, there does appear to be a problem with come police members being involved in corruption. CPF representatives mentioned a number of particular incidents where they had provided information to the police about criminal suspects who were then arrested. The suspects were then released the same day and intimidated CPF members who had provided information. That the police had provided the suspects with the identities of the CPF members led to breakdown in the trust of the police.

There was concern from some members that the Chairperson had not changed since 1994 although the position should not be held for more than two years. It was felt that the Chairperson had been 'co-opted' by the police and that this was the reason for the lack of 'movement forward' with regards to specific crime prevention projects being designed and implemented. Certain initiatives had been undertaken but thee were largely related to crime awareness and trying to encourage people to report crime. Some of the CPF members were sceptical that these initiatives had resulted in very much.

4. A Kliptown Safety Strategy

It is recommended that a safety strategy for the Kliptown heritage and tourism developments adopt a 'Community Safety Approach'. Essentially this means that the safety and security measures adopted for the developments form part of a broader engagement with community safety issues. In this way the various community safety structures will draw the link between their safety needs and activities and that of the development. In a sense, the objective will be to ensure that the broader Kliptown community see the security of the various heritage and tourism developments as part of their responsibility and something that benefits the community as a whole.

This approach can be distinguished from a purely 'situational' security approach whereby the development sites alone are secured through outside security agencies. Particularly where the primary concern is the safety of the visitors to the site as long as they remain within confined geographical spaces.

Whereas most of the participants in the research gave credit to the police for crime reduction in the area, there could be other reasons that support this trend. Certainly the community structures appear to be well established and functional to a relatively impressive degree. These structures provide a good opportunity to embark on a 'Community Safety Strategy' as they are already in place and people throughout the community are already mobilised to partake in them. It would be a good idea to identify key people related to the development of the sites who could form a 'Safety Committee' to start interacting and further developing the safety strategy as part of the ongoing planning and development of the development.

4.1 Developing a Local Crime Prevention Strategy

According to the National Crime Prevention Centre (2000, p. 37), successful crime prevention programmes are typically based on simple solutions that target a few select problems. They recommend the following four stages with a number of key steps for developing an effective strategy that once implemented will provide an indication of what works, what does not and what might work. The basic model is as follows:

Stage 1 - A community safety audit to identify problems and better understand the nature of the community.

Stage 2 - Developing a Strategy

Stage 3 - Managing and Implementing the strategy

Stage 4 - Monitoring and Evaluating the strategy

As part of suggesting a strategy for the Kliptown developments, some preliminary work towards stages one and two have already been undertaken. However, there are a range of far more rigorous tools and processes that can be used to develop very detailed information related to each of the stages identified below. For example, with regards to the crime and safety audit, a detailed situational crime analysis could be undertaken in relation to the location of the proposed heritage and tourism sites. This entails locating the proposed cites on a map of the Kliptown area. All access and linkage routes need to be highlighted on the map. Thereafter with assistance from the Crime Intelligence component of the Kliptown, recorded crime incidents (per key crime types) should be pinpointed on the map for each month over the past year.

Further community consultation could be carried out to enhance the picture whereby different groups (e.g. CPF members, teachers, the police, in and out of school youth, commuters, shop-owners shebeen owners, hawkers, etc) locate on a map specific factors that they think relate to crime and security (e.g. where criminals hide, how they escape, other related activities are taking place in the community). This will give a detailed picture of the geographic dispersion of crime and related factors in relation to the proposed development cites.

4.2 Components of a Community Safety Strategy

In order to affect a comprehensive 'Community Safety Approach', it is recommended that three key components are included in the strategy in line with the model suggested by the National Crime Prevention Centre. The three components are presented in more detail below with practical ideas that could form part of the strategy.

• Law enforcement

  It would be important to include the SAPS as part of the safety strategy for a range of reasons as outlined below. The SAPS could play a role in further developing a safety strategy for the site. The Kliptown SAPS could provide ongoing information as to crime situation in the area and contribute to regular a crime threat analysis for the site. Dedicate detectives could be identified to investigate any crimes that may occur within the site to ensure an effective and efficient response if necessary. In return, the development site managers could bring particular skills to bear to advocate and write proposals for particular resources that the Kliptown SAPS may need (e.g. vehicles) that could be of benefit to the community as a whole.

  One way is to include a focus on how policing in South Africa has changed since the days of apartheid as part of the heritage and museum. The Kliptown police station could be part of the development of the exhibition where tourists can visit the new police station and meet police members in a democratic South Africa. Particular members of the Kliptown police station could be given specific training to engage with tourists and talk about the transformation of the SAPS, how it has changed its policies, structures and functions since the days of apartheid to what is now a 'community policing' approach.

  The Kliptown development initiative could also assist with establishing of a 'Top Cop Award' programme to recognise and reward those Kliptown police members who do extraordinary work in the community and act as role models to other police members at the station. An enhanced focus on the police station and the police members in relation to the way they police the community and the development sites could also lead to a reduction of corruption or poor service delivery as it would encourage police management to intervene proactively in these problems.

• Situational prevention

Clearly there will be a need for 'situational security measures' and CPTED when planning and developing the sites. It would be necessary to contact an expert in this field who could provide further insights into the core planning principles and how these will affect safety of the sites.¹⁰

There are relatively obvious things such as fencing around the developments and guards where visitors are likely to park their cars when visiting the site. These measures would provide an opportunity for people in the community to become involved. Guards (who could be presented as 'Tourist Assistance' or 'Kliptown Heritage officers') could patrol the walkways or act as guides between the different sites and throughout the CBD where tourists may want to explore. These people could be especially trained in providing information and basic security skills (e.g. making citizens arrests, basic first aid, conflict mediation, working with traumatised people) and could provide these services to anyone who may need them including members of the community.

Moreover, there will be a need for the establishment of physical infrastructure to improve security in the area. Open field with long grass, easy escape routes through to the shacks that make up informal settlements and inadequate lighting, all contribute to the criminal activities that take place in Kliptown. Particular security measures could be identified and the management structures involved in the development initiative could advocate to the local council structures for specific improvements in this regards. Improvements that were agreed upon should then be communicated to the community through the various structures so that people link these improvements to the site, thereby promoting a positive association between the project development sites and overall community developments.

• Social prevention

  In a similar vein to the situational/ environmental improvements that could be associated with the sites, linking the development with an improvement in the social conditions of people in the community would also enhance the security of the developments. There are a number of ways in which this could be undertaken.

  It is a good idea to provide training and employment to people who live in Kliptown. Vehicle guards and 'Kliptown Heritage Officers' should ideally be people who come from the community. They will be best placed to know how to keep visitors safe in Kliptown and will have a direct interest in doing so as it provides them with employment. Similarly, the development sites could include areas where members of the Kliptown community could sell goods and wares to visitors. If people benefit materially from the sites they will invest time and energy towards ensuring its security.

  Developments that directly benefit the youth of Kliptown could also yield important safety dividends. Recreational or educational facilities linked to the site, that could be utilised by NGOs who support youth development initiatives could achieve this.¹¹ It would be worth exploring the establishment of programmes that kept young people in school. Such an inclusion could be particularly beneficial for a longer-term approach to community safety due to the close link between school drop-outs and the perpetrators of most of the priority crimes occurring in the area. While this would not necessarily affect those youth who came to Kliptown from other areas, the involvement of the youth in Kliptown could provide a risk to these individuals from other areas as it would be the local youth who would most quickly identify and monitor those young people who potential posed a safety risk in the area.

5. Conclusion

The purpose of this document is to present an approach towards developing a safety strategy for the heritage, education and tourism components of the Greater Kliptown Development Project. The strategic approach recommended was one whereby the safety and security of the sites are linked to the concerns of the community, thereby promoting a sense of community 'ownership' and 'responsibility' for the development. Towards this end key principles for preventing crime and components for such a strategy were presented and explained. Furthermore, the findings of primary research related to key safety concerns in Kliptown was presented. This information provided some insight into the nature of the safety concerns, including opportunities and challenges for a community safety approach. Finally, further suggestions for detailing safety concerns were forwarded and practical ideas for each of the components of the strategy were suggested.

6. References

Annual Report of the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service. 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003. As required by section 40 (1) (d) of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999.

Bayley, D.H (1994) Police for the Future. Oxford University press: Oxford.

Nel, P. (2000) Making South Africa Safe. A Manual for Community Based Crime Prevention. The National Crime Prevention Centre, Department of Safety and Security, and the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR): Pretoria.

Pease, K. (1997) "Crime Prevention" in Mike Maguire, Rod Morgan and Robert Reiner (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Criminology. Second Edition. Clarendon Press: Oxford.

Reiner, R. (1985) The Politics of the Police. Wheatsheaf Books Ltd: Sussex.

Notes:

¹ Bayley (1994) provides 15 references that cite such studies.

² He could not answer questions about the time period before that as he had only been at the Kliptown station for two years. Furthermore, he could not provide exact figures for the numbers of tourists that visit the area save to say that they were not an uncommon sight.

³ It must be noted that there is resistance from the side of the SAPS to provide raw statistics, as in the recorded numbers of crime incidents recorded per day, week or month. This is as a result of political decision taken at the most senior level of the SAPS. Most station level police commanders would personally not mind sharing such information as they recognise that it could only be of benefit in assisting the communities they serve with targeted local level crime prevention initiatives. It may be possible to obtain such statistics for development purposes if permission is obtained from the Provincial Commissioner of Gauteng.

⁴ The SAPS 2002/2003 Annual report states that various docket analysis indicates that "anything between 25% and 50% of all aggravated robbery cases inter alia involve cellular phones... These robberies are mainly committed by small gangs of youths armed with firearms and knives who roam the streets of especially townships and CBD areas." p. 41.

⁵ South African Police Service Annual Report, 2003/2003, p. 30.

⁶ Ibid.

⁷ However, as participants were from an older generation there may be beliefs at play that fail to recognise violence within a marriage as the crime of domestic violence.

⁸ The attendance of the Station Commissioner (S/C) is important as this person is the most senior decision-maker at the police station. Recently however, the S/C passed away and the post is open. A new acting S/C currently holds the post and has been at the station for the past two months. Hopefully the new incumbent will follow in the footsteps of his/ her predecessor and attend these meetings.

⁹ There are approximately 250 police members stationed at the Kliptown police station.

¹⁰ The Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Crime Prevention Centre would be able to provide much assistance with this aspect.

¹¹ A useful resource for understanding youth based crime prevention programmes can be found on the CSVR website under the publications section dealing with youth. In particular see Palmary and Moat (2002) Preventing Criminality Among Young People.

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