Tackling Rural Crime in Gauteng- are we asking the right questions?

1. Tackling Rural Crime in Gauteng- are we asking the right questions?

2. Research Statement: To represent the plight of farming communities in the far western development corridor of Gauteng who live the daily rituals of a community under siege, at the International Rural Crime conference in September 2017.

3. Research Brief: We as the Democratic Alliance in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature believe that the scale, cost, social impact and other effects of crime in rural areas of Gauteng are underestimated, under-reported and not fully understood. Participation in this focus group session will assist us to shine a light on the issues, to improve understanding and enhance rural community safety.

4. Whose problem is it anyway? • What happens to a community when n farm ceases to operate? • Is it a policing problem? • Is it a societal problem? • What makes a farm community vulnerable? • What is the impact of social media? • What is the impact of populism? • What is the significance of social cohesion?

5. Sensational Media Populist interest groups Social media trolls Failed policy/strategy Poor policing The Toxic Mix

6. Under pressure Zuma cools populist land reform rhetoric President backtracks on previous stance of no compensation and amending Constitution 30 MAY 2017 - 05:17 CLAUDI MAILOVICH “ If you see a beautiful piece of land, take it, it belongs to you”

7. Gauteng’s situation • According to Defense web, a leading African defence news portal, living on a farm or a smallholding in Gauteng and, on top of that, being older than 60 years of age place people in the category of being the most vulnerable targets for farm attacks in South Africa.  • Gauteng is the most dangerous province in the country for farm and smallholding residents (Van Zyl, 2011) • More than 19.8% of the 3 319 farm attacks recorded over the 23-year period between 1990 and 2012 occurred in Gauteng

8. Stock theft conviction rate

9. Questions to the focus group: • How has rural crime affected your life and your business? • What types of crimes are prevalent in your rural area? • What do you think is the motive for the attacks? • Do you think rural crime is a serious problem in South Africa? Why? • What solutions can the government implement to support farmers? • What solutions can the communities implement to support farmers? • What would make your life easier on the farm in 2017

10. Focus Group/ Workshop Consent Form:

11. Research Findings • Rural Crime has collapsed the farming economy as farmers now have to focus on fighting crime instead of farming. • The police appear to be enabling the criminals rather than protecting the farm communities by failing to arrest them and taking bribes. • Farmers have reached high levels of dismay in the justice system that they want to take the law into their own hands. • Stock theft syndicates are also trafficking drugs

12. Research Findings • Crimes that are prevalent in the Western Corridor of Gauteng are stock theft; robberies, rape, murders and drug trafficking. • The motive for the attacks is the availability of opportunity; poor security infrastructure; poor cell phone signals; no visible policing; easy access to markets • The SAPS has no systems and they aren’t familiar with the areas they are servicing. • Police never take statements; and the RF numbers are covered up on police vehicles

13. Community Response: • Community cohesion • Use of communication applications-Whats App etc. • Requirements to ensure safety • Visible policing • Relationship with SAPS and the need for support • On farm security

14. Recommendations from Focus Group • Visible, effective policing • South Africa should tighten its border control; stock is now being moved to neighbouring countries without export permits. • Farmers that are active in catching criminals in their rural communities need support or compensation for their work on stock recoveries. • Connectivity • Animal identification apps

15. Frontiers: Digital Disruption “We are seeing technology applied in new and innovative ways. Artificial Intelligence techniques such as machine learning are harvesting data from farms in ways that would have been unfathomable 10 years ago. Novel sensor technologies are bringing a new level of precision to the industry. Robotic harvesters are automating processes, taking the strain from people. And large-scale data collection and analysis is set to disrupt entire markets.” Santiago Tenorio

16. Shotspotter

17. Geofences

18. Harnessing Big Data

19. The Democratic Alliance position: • Keep accurate and separate statistics for rural crime- how do you measure the impact of interventions if you are not able to measure anything? • The SAHRC Report on National Investigative Hearings into Safety & Security Challenges in Farming Communities concludes unequivocally that the causes for ‘farm attacks and murders’ is not race. The general view is they have robbery as their main aim with money and firearms being the primary target. The observation of an increasing number of black farmers being affected also supports this view. • The Reservist programme in farm areas must be properly implemented with concerted effort to recruit and train farmers, farm workers and farm dwellers.

20. The Democratic Alliance Position: • Special SAPS rural safety units must be deployed once again with appropriately resourced and trained officers • Farm attacks must also be classified as a priority crime so more resources can be allocated to Rural Safety Units; More money should be spent on Crime intelligence in rural communities.   • Increased access to health, social support, and education must be ensured for farmworkers and dwellers. This is a fundamental Human rights issue and farmers must be treated equally in this regard. • Condemnation of attacks should come from government and stereotyping of farmers must stop • Attention must be paid to the ability of Metro governments, Social Development and the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to collaborate with farming communities via Metro Police forces, social work interventions and extension services, who all work in farming communities on a daily basis. Such a transversal approach is yet unexplored and will allow government to address the risks associated with higher food costs and household food insecurity because of crime

21. Conclusions: • An appropriate policy response for government to tackle rural crime in Gauteng will require new thinking. An overwhelming amount of data is becoming available because of technological innovation and the Internet of Things. Often, government actors, including SAPS members, extension officers and social workers all work in the same rural communities, and interact with overlapping data sets, but they are not yet collaborating effectively. • Communities themselves must strive for empowerment and social cohesion to develop a shared future based on the values of respect, reconciliation and redress. • The possibilities of City-led initiatives to enhance rural safety in Gauteng must be further explored as the city region is expected to continue expanding.