Our Viewpoint | uMgungundlovu anti-crime council
"In most areas where crime is rife, the high crime rate is usually because community members have thrown in the towel in the battle against criminals."
Last week’s launch of the uMgungundlovu District multi-stakeholder anti-crime council represents a significant shift from previous anti-crime strategies premised on the incorrect understanding that arrests alone could address the problem of crime in the country.
By bringing together law enforcement agencies, municipalities, traditional leaders, business, faithbased organisations and community structures, the government has finally acknowledged that crime is rooted in complex social and economic challenges.
Poverty, unemployment, substance abuse and poor service delivery create fertile ground for criminal activity, and these cannot be addressed through arrests alone.
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As the first district in KwaZulu-Natal to establish such a council, uMgungundlovu has taken a bold step that, if properly supported, could become a model for other districts grappling with high levels of violent crime.
With the district having earned an unfortunate reputation as one of the country’s major contributors to contact crime, it is fitting that uMgungundlovu is the first district in the province to launch such an anti-crime initiative.
The brutal murder of nine-year-old Nonjabulwenhle Nzimande a few days ago serves as a painful reminder of the devastating human cost of the district’s unchecked criminality. It is precisely because of such tragedies that new approaches beyond conventional policing should be explored.
The fact that 300 community members in the district came forward and volunteered to serve on the structure as councillors is testament to residents’ frustration with crime.
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Without doubt, the presence of these councillors within communities will strengthen intelligence gathering, improve co-operation with police and encourage residents to reclaim ownership of their neighbourhoods.
In most areas where crime is rife, the high crime rate is usually because community members have thrown in the towel in the battle against criminals. However, the reality is that effective crime prevention begins with communities refusing to surrender public spaces to criminals.
With previous anti-crime models having dismally failed to bring down the crime rate, the uMgungundlovu multi-stakeholder anti-crime council offers an opportunity to chart a different course.