Municipal Role in Crime Prevention: South African Milestones, Reflections and Challenges

Abstract

The aim of this article is to provide milestones with regard to policy development in adressing the role municipalities should play in ensuring safety of its people. Several policy documents approved in the 1990s are explicit with respect to local government's responsibility in assuring the safety of inhabitans living in their districts. The National Crime Prevention Strategy (1996) and the White Paper on Safety and Security (1998) laid the foundation for local crime prevention initiatives and gave municipalities new duties such as coordination and implementation of crime prevention programmes within their areas of jurisdiction. The White Paper on Local Government (1998) determined that municipalities should cooperate with the South African Police Service, other national and provincial departments, private sector, non-governmental and community-based organisations in developing and executing strategies aimed at reducting crime. The Community Safety Forums (CSFs) Policy (2012) was introduced to focus on the function of CSFs within the sphere of local government in facilitating enhanced co-operation, integrated planning, and coordinated administration of safety programmes and projects at community level. In 2016 the White Paper on Safety and Security was reviewed to clearly highlight local government's task in crime prevention. Consequently, the National Development Plan for 2030 proposes an integrated approach to resolving the root causes of crime that involves an active citizenry and inter-related responsibilities and co-ordinated service delivery from state and non-state actors which include local government. South African policies have been clear with regard to the mandate of municipalities. This research revealed that crime prevention demands a process of analysis by municipalities to determine the cause of speciific types of crime, as well as the collaboration of resources and skills of a range of local stakeholders to develop and apply appropriate interventions.