by Adrian Roos LP – Head of DA Gauteng Court Monitoring Unit
Date: 25 October 2020
Release: Immediate
The Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng North Region made a decision on Saturday at its Congress to strengthen rural safety in the Gauteng North region.
Almost three quarters of reported farm attacks and killings in Gauteng take place in the North region of the province.
The Onderstepoort and Elandsfontein areas have seen organized attacks on various farms in coordinated raids. The areas of Kameeldrift, Dewagendrift, Boschkop and Bronkhorstspruit have experienced countless murders and brutal attacks.
The DA Gauteng North region agreeed that:
Farm attacks and murders be declared a priority crime category, with a set of harsher sentences if prosecutors prove that the motive for the crime was hatred or contempt based on the victim’s identity as a farmer;
Specific rural safety plans be drawn up for every rural police district in the Gauteng North region;
At local station level, rural community policing units be established for every police station that serves at least one rural sector;
These units will include volunteers from the local community that assist the SAPS in rural sector policing;
Increased powers be devolved to Neighborhood Watches and Community Police Forums in rural communities;
A civilian oversight mechanism be established over community safety in the Gauteng North region.
The DA in Gauteng recently introduced the bill on the oversight of community’s safety, which will assign greater powers to neighborhood guards and community policing forums in rural communities. This bill will also increase civilian oversight community safety in Gauteng.
While other political parties are trying to use farm attacks to divide South Africans, the DA believes that we will only be able to combat these attacks through teamwork. Mechanisms should be implemented to support police who are making efforts to fight this scourge and oversight must be strengthened over police who simply fold their arms in these matters.
Media Enquiries
Adrian Roos LP
Head of DA Gauteng Court Monitoring unit
082 800 2880
Michael Shackleton LPW
Gauteng Shadow-LUR Community Safety
066 043 0155
Charity McCord
Provincial Media Officer
078 126 2765
