Blog – Safety planning

In the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, issues surrounding individuals’ ability to engage with their communities locally or nationally has come into question as societal inequalities have been exacerbated and people isolated from one another.

Local government, the closest interface between government and communities, is a key driver of quality service delivery including the promotion of community safety. The Constitution demands that services and functions that have the most developmental impact on citizens should be performed by local government.

The WCG Whole of Government Targeted Hotspot Plan works to change individual and community behaviour to slow the spread of COVID-19 in high-population, high-transmission areas. Community Safety, in partnership with lead departments and other spheres of government, has taken proactive measures to protect communities and save lives.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa used his State of the Nation Address on February 7 to outline his relatively new government’s actions and plans. However, the crime prevention strategies he outlined were somewhat stale. Most, especially those related to policing and gender-based violence, have been tried before. They yielded few positive results and there is no evidence to suggest that they’ll work any better now.

This article will provide a summary of the successful workshop titled “Cross-Pollination event: A knowledge exchange that is shared amongst communities” that was organised by the Community Intervention team with the support from the Knowledge and Learning team.

The Inclusive Violence and Crime Prevention Programme (VCP) of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and its partners trained over 120 young people as youth leaders and ambassadors of safer communities in two provinces, Gauteng and Eastern Cape. The purpose of this training is capacity-building of young leaders who can then contribute to the building of safer communities and to reducing crime and violence, which is on the rise in South African communities.

The adoption of the 2016 White Paper on Safety and Security and the 2016 White Paper on Policing mark an important shift in conversations around crime and violence in South Africa, specifically regarding the role of the police in prevention, and the need to address the underlying causes of crime and violence.

The first national report of its kind, the State of Urban Safety in South Africa Report 2016 makes the case for integrated, evidence-based urban safety responses driven at city-level.

The new 2016 White Paper on Safety and Security was adopted by the South African Cabinet earlier this year as a policy on safety, crime and violence prevention that promotes an integrated and holistic approach to safety and security in line with the National Development Plan.

This post shares experiences from the upgrade of End Street North Park in inner-city Johannesburg; a pilot project that tests a participatory approach to park design and management for safety. It attempts a more socially inclusive, and community-oriented approach to park design and management.