RURAL SAFETY CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE AGRI SA S ROLE IN RURAL SAFETY.

Transcription

1 RURAL SAFETY CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE AGRI SA S ROLE IN RURAL SAFETY.

2 AGRI SA S ROLE IN RURAL SAFETY 2

3 Index 1. Introduction 4 2. Strategic developments 5 3. Challenges 5 4. Comprehensive Strategy 7 5. National Development Plan 8 6. Strategic approach 8 7. A few pointers 9 3

4 RURAL SAFETY AGRI SA S ROLE IN RURAL SAFETY INTRODUCTION The Rural Safety Centre for Excellence, facilitates Agri SA s involvement in influencing policy, legislation and programmes relating to the safety and security of farming communities and the rural environment. The Centre s activities are supported by the police, national defence force, Correctional Services, the National Prosecuting Authority and the Institute for Security Studies. In a perception survey conducted within the farming community, respondents identified five issues, namely; Land reform; High input costs; Crime / rural safety; Lack of government support; and Economic uncertainty, as the most important challenges faced by agriculture. The results indicated the need for continuous attention at all levels of the organisation to crime-related challenges in agriculture. 4

5 STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTS The development of rural safety strategies was influenced by the following developments; 1997 Agri SA asks the government for strategies to protect farming communities Strategic plan for SA agriculture - retention and expansion of the commando system. February 2003 President Mbeki - phasing out of the commando system - rural safety becomes a police responsibility, which requires a new strategy Rural Protection Plan implemented, focusing on the protection of farms and smallholdings and home and health. April 2001 Committee of inquiry appointed by Minister Tshwete to look into motives behidn farm attacks - it was found that robbery was the main motive. July 2011 Implement comprehensive Rural Safety Strategy, focusing on rural areas and the implementation of community policing. October 1998 After discussions with President Mandela, a rural summit was held where government prioritised farm attacks. 1999/2000 Priority committee on Rural Safety was created by Joints structure Human Rights Commission finds that robbery is the main motive. Good cooperation between landowner and workers. The strategy is comprehensive and inclusive. The value of Agri SA s timely intervention and ongoing involvement in rural safety in South Africa since 1997 can hardly be overestimated. Driven by the shocking incidence of farm crime in 1997 including the highest farm murder figure to date Agri SA assumed the initiative to bring the matter to government s attention. The government was requested, among other things, to urgently develop appropriate strategies to safeguard the farming community. Agri SA and other stakeholders were involved in a structured and coordinated manner in the development of this plan. This process gained momentum after Agri SA s discussions with then President Nelson Mandela, resulting in the Rural Safety Summit. The consensus reached at the summit was that a process had to be established to act decisively against rural crime and at the same time to strengthen existing strategies. One of the important decisions made during the summit was that organised agriculture should play an active role in improving rural safety. This resulted in, among others, the establishment of the Agri Securitas Trust Fund by Agri SA in 1999, which for the past 17 years has been involved in funding a large number of projects to promote rural safety. CHALLENGES Agri SA and its affiliates had to remain constantly vigilant to maintain the momentum of the security process through appropriate policy and procedures. 5

6 For this reason, the unexpected phasing out of the commando system early in 2013 was a setback in the effectiveness of the Rural Protection Plan. After the announcement, Agri SA met with the ministers of Safety and Security, as well as Defence, to express its concern regarding this development and to stress the importance of playing an active role in the development and content of a workable new plan. This resulted in Agri SA being consulted regarding the content of the new plan aimed at all people living in rural area not only farmers and also being actively involved in the development thereof. With regard to the new dispensation where the South African Police Service (SAPS) had to replace the successful commando system, the following four mechanisms will be established; The implementation of sector policing; The use of crime-fighting units to ensure rural safety; The use of reservists; The allocation of more staff to the different police stations. The fact that the police would in future be fully responsible for the safety of rural communities naturally required changes to the rural protection plan, as well as the development and implementation of a process that would ensure the safety of rural communities at all times. An aspect that was of concern to Agri SA was that various obstacles were identified that could hamper the practical implementation of the new dispensation. These included the following; An outdated security plan for rural areas and inadequate guidelines, leadership and support from the police at national and provincial level to ensure effective application thereof at local police stations. Resources (logistic and staff) at rural police stations were inadequate, with a lack of technical support and development. Infrastructure and maintenance were not on standard; skills were delegated to urban areas, and the support provided to beginner farmers was inadequate. Poor cooperation and coordination between departments, with staff not knowing exactly what their roles and responsibilities were. Communication networks and mechanisms were ineffective, with communication with the community also leaving much to be desired. Service delivery was hampered by slow response times due to the vastness of the areas, while the level of arrests and convictions was cause for concern. 6

7 COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY In terms of Agri SA s policy not to merely criticise, but also to make a positive contribution towards improving rural safety, this organisation constantly strives to ensure the improvement of service delivery at all levels. This ultimately resulted in its proposals, with only a few exceptions, being incorporated into a national rural safety strategy (RSS). The new, comprehensive strategy came into effect in July 2011 and although problems may arise in practice, Agri SA was satisfied that it was a feasible strategy for rural safety. The strategy rests on four pillars, namely; Promoting service delivery, supported by sector policing and police reservists; Development of an integrated approach; Community protection, including home protection; Rural development. This strategy makes it possible for the police to; Improve services delivery to everyone in rural areas; Enhance visibility in rural areas; Improve response times; Act effectively in rural areas; Support the implementation of sector policing within the rural environment; Improve safety awareness and the rural community s knowledge with regard to safety and security; Improve communication and relationships between the police, farming communities, other stakeholders and the broader rural areas; and Improve investigation, and ultimately the conviction rate. The reservist policy states that a reservist would be used in the sector where he lives and may be deployed elsewhere with the approval of the National Commissioner if the situation requires it. Reservists are regarded as the backbone in implementing the Rural Safety Strategy. The establishment of sector policing on a decentralised and geographic basis is an approach to policing where an area is divided into manageable sectors to promote policing, service delivery and community involvement. The reservist dispensation and sector policing should be supported by the agricultural community in an attempt to further expand policing at local level. Further support can be provided by establishing a farm watch in an observation and information-gathering role. These approaches collectively can play a major role as a force multiplier in support of more effective policing. 7

8 NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Chapter 12 of the National Development Plan (NDP) addresses the creation of safer communities. As part of the plan, the following recommendations are made to create a more professional police force; The establishment of a national policing council with multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary experts. This council must, among others, set standards for the recruitment, selection, appointment and promotion of police members; A competency survey conducted among all officers, and classification based thereon; Drafting of a code of conduct for SAPS members which afterwards must become part of disciplinary procedure; The development of a two-stream system based on objective evaluation to ensure the appointment of top-quality recruits and police officers; The demilitarisation of the police force, including a review of the organisational culture and sub-cultures within the police force. In its commentary on the white papers on the Police and Safety and Security, Agri SA took cognisance of these principles. The White Paper on the Police as structure will give effect to the new Police Act. The broad principles regarding policing aspects and the safety and security aspects of the community are referred to in the White Paper on Safety and Security. During a workshop on rural safety held on 7 July this year, the police renewed their commitment to effective rural safety and planning was conducted on the operationalisation of the rural safety strategy. The Back-to-Basics programme of the police received considerable attention. The Back-to-Basics programme is aimed at ensuring that the police attend to basic aspects of policing on an ongoing basis. The improvement in discipline and greater visibility are important objectives, while under-performance and deficient systems at police units and stations also enjoy high priority. In-depth attention was given to the four strategic pillars for rural safety, namely improved service delivery, creating awareness within the community, rural development and an integrated approach. Incidents on farms and small holdings serve as a specific focus area of the rural safety strategy. STRATEGIC APPROACH Agri SA s guidance and active involvement in rural safety for almost two decades have indeed borne fruit. However, the organisation realises that its role will never become irrelevant. Therefore, a comprehensive strategy was developed with various important strategic goals. This included six core objectives to ensure rural safety; 8

9 Communication must be enhanced, which entails ongoing discussions with executive authorities of government and the police to emphasise the value of agriculture and the importance of national food security, as well as the impact of rural crime on job creation; the development of the rural economy; how to address command and control issues at station level; and to ensure that the reservist system works well. The implementation of the rural safety strategy must be promoted, including self-help actions by farmer associations to combat crime, the establishment of farm watch structures to support reservists, as well as good training; The effective management of crime scenes by providing good training and thorough preparation of case dockets for the court process; Effective research regarding relevant cases, including aspects such as the incidence of and motives behind farm attacks; Acceleration of the implementation of rural police units in priority clusters similar to the tactical response units (TRTs); Promoting Agri SA s socio-economic objectives, such as improving the business skills of commercial and emerging farmers, providing accredited training, and other important aspects that will ultimately contribute to rural stability. A FEW POINTERS The Rural Safety Strategy remains the overarching instrument to promote rural safety. The following aspects can be considered by farmer associations to address the security situation; Promote ongoing cooperation with the police; Become actively involved in the local Priority Committee s for Rural Safety where challenges relating to local policing and crime must be dealt with; Create a sub-community policing forum to address sector-specific issues and affiliate with the local Community Policing Forum (GPF); Become involved as reservists in the reservist system; Establish a farm watch system in consultation with the police, and develop a code of conduct; Develop appropriate security plans in consultation with the police; Promote own and farmer workers preparedness; Apply the protocol for farm access effectively; Report poor service delivery by the police immediately to the station commander; Report all incidents of crime to the police and remain involved as complainant in the criminal justice process until the case is finalised. Agri SA believes that its positive involvement in rural safety will also make a difference in future. Kobus Visser Director: Corporate Liaison 9