Planning for crime prevention: The case of the city of Tshwane

Chapter 1

Crime prevention in the City of Tshwane

After decades in which it was the primary agent in crime prevention in the City of Tshwane (the former Pretoria area)¹, the South African Police Service (SAPS) has, during the last couple of years, embarked on a process of placing crime prevention on the agendas of other role players in the City, especially on those of community groups and local government. One of the key initiatives and success areas in this regard was the local Community Police Forums (CPF), where the SAPS, community groups and other role players such as local business forums joined hands and began addressing crime prevention in a more holistic way, through organising joint activities and initiatives, and sharing of information and resources.

With the establishment of the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department in February 2002, the local crime prevention arena underwent a further set of changes and new opportunities for crime prevention emerged. Although it is still early days and the new system is as yet not fully established, a number of lessons can be learned on the way in which crime prevention is dealt with, and on the kind of progress that has been made by the metropolitan police in establishing and giving effect to the mandate for local crime prevention as well as to the National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS) - which places the focus on preventative rather than reactive measures to counter crime.²

The research forms part of the Urban Crime Prevention Project, a SaferAfrica initiative that seeks to improve the accessibility of local government to experiences and best practices on urban crime prevention in South Africa. The project covers six metropolitan municipalities in the region and analyses the approaches applied by different role players to urban crime prevention. The project also examines how these approaches have been developed and implemented, and scrutinises the approaches for best practices and lessons learnt.³

In the case of the City of Tshwane the research is largely based on interviews with the major role players in crime prevention endeavours within the Tshwane Metropolitan area, viz members of the City of Tshwane's Metropolitan Police Department, including its Regional Offices; the Crime Prevention Unit and IDP Office; officials in the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality; units from the SAPS; and other role players such as the CSIR and Business Against Crime. Other sources of information that were consulted include the Tshwane Crime Prevention Strategy (2002-2007) and the City of Tshwane Integrated Development Plan (IDP) (2002).

This report aims to provide an overview of, and extract some experiences from the attempts by the City of Tshwane's to centre stage and give effect to crime prevention within the developmental mandate of local government. As such it consists of five parts. Firstly, it provides an overview of the legal and policy framework as well as local restructuring processes influencing city-based crime prevention. Secondly, it provides an overview of the various role players and maps their mandates and responsibilities in the local crime prevention arena. Thirdly, the strategic direction and underlying approaches for crime prevention in the City of Tshwane are outlined. Fourthly, an overview is provided of initiatives and activities in the crime prevention arena, and lastly, it highlights and evaluates the attempts at centre staging crime prevention in the City of Tshwane.

Foot notes

Capital city of South Africa, incorporating the former Greater Pretoria Metropolitan Area, the former Pretoria and Centurion City Councils and the Town Council of Akasia.
Shaw M, Louw A. 'Safer Cities and Towns Programme for South Africa'. In: Monograph No 11: Towards Safer Cities. Institute for Security Studies. April 1997, 1-8. http://www.iss.org.za/Pubs/Monographs20030309.
Jefferson C. Urban Crime Prevention Project Brief. SaferAfrica. August 2002.