Rural Safety

Rural safety refers to all safety and security issues that affect non-urban communities in so far as it deals with human, property and food protection and security.

Vision

“To create a safe and secure rural environment where all inhabitants can prosper and live without fear.”

Mission

Rural Safety will be achieved through a collective, coordinated Rural Safety Strategy which seeks to achieve the following main objectives to:

  • enhance service delivery to the rural community;
  • adopt and ensure a responsive integrated proactive and reactive policing approach;
  • enhance cooperation and coordination amongst all role players and stakeholders
  • ensure a sustainable policing approach through the utilization of sector policing as a policing method;
  • ensure the implementation of the Rural Safety Strategy by engaging with all relevant role players;
  • develop, implement and maintain integrated rural safety plans at operational levels;
  • establish effective communication mechanisms to support communication amongst all role players and stakeholders;
  • ensure effective analysis and communication of crime affecting the rural environment;
  • develop and implement appropriate measures and strategies to effectively address rural safety;
  • reduce crime levels in the rural community, especially violent crime;
  • promote rural development amongst all role players and Government Departments;
  • utilize reservists as a capacity (force) multiplier in support of the South African Police Service; and
  • ensure effective investigation

Strategy

The Rural Safety Strategy of the South African Police Service aims to address rural safety as part and parcel of an integrated and holistic day to day crime prevention approach, based on the principles of Sector Policing which addresses the needs of the entire rural community, including the farming community. Sector Policing, as the policing approach will be pivotal to address rural safety in cooperation with the community and relevant stakeholders. This approach will be supported by crime prevention and service delivery, a rapid reaction capacity at cluster level and utilization of reservists at the sector level as force multipliers. Rural safety on the South African borderline will further be strengthened in terms of integrating and coordinating local deployment along borderline operations to combat illegal cross border movement of people, goods and contraband. The above approach aims to sustain and integrate the Rural Safety Strategy by providing a properly trained and resourced capacity to implement rural safety measures. The strategy further aims to promote effective and dedicated participation, partnership and involvement of internal and external stakeholders in an integrated, joint and coordinated manner. An Implementation Plan, Rural Safety Toolkit (Implementation Guidelines) and Communication Strategy will be developed and rolled out for implementation at ground level to address rural safety based on the sector policing approach.

The Rural Safety Strategy will be based on the following four pillars:

PILLAR 1: ENHANCED SERVICE DELIVERY

  • To improve access to safety and security services and infrastructure
  • Adopting a proactive and responsive operational approach
  • Implementation of Sector Policing and sector deployment
  • Enhanced utilization of reservists
  • Enhanced border security
  • Enhanced communication
  • Availability of information/intelligence to support Intelligence-driven operations
  • Establishment of an information gathering and sharing capability
  • Optimal utilization of all available resources in an integrated manner
  • The professional and prompt investigation, as well as effective prosecution

PILLAR 2: INTEGRATED APPROACH

Promote and involve all role players and stakeholders in an integrated and coordinated manner to support improved accessibility and service delivery to the rural community. Enhanced cooperation and coordination of all available resources are required.

PILLAR 3: COMMUNITY SAFETY AWARENESS

  • Establishment of Safety Networks (Home and Hearth).
  • Creating community awareness and educating the rural community in terms of safety and security issues (pamphlets, posters, booklets, community programs and projects).

PILLAR 4: RURAL DEVELOPMENT

  • Promoting effective crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED).
  • Implementation of the Comprehensive Rural Development Plan (CRDP).