Invisible CPF

By Laea Medley

As we set out to find solutions to the issues of crime in Vukani, Grahamstown, we not only have to look ahead to a crime-free community, but we also need to establish what the causes of crime are, and tackle these. Over the past few weeks, we have concluded that crime in Vukani stems from various issues within the community, ranging from unemployment and alcohol abuse, to more personal family feuds, to simpler, yet fixable issues such as the lack of street lights in the area. One of the main issues however, is the lack of visibility of legitimate Community Policing Forum (CPF) members.

Visible policing in any community helps reduce crime. The mere presence of CPF members and authority figures on the streets deters criminals, and encourages the community to fight crime together. Liziwe Gqotholo, a community member who volunteered to participate on the CPF, is active in her fight against crime. She is involved in resolving domestic feuds, as well as organising youth activities, such as soccer games, in an attempt to lead children away from a life of crime. But this is not enough. Gqotholo is only one person, and not everyone in the Vukani community recognises her as a CPF member. She feels overwhelmed by the crime situation in the area, and has admitted to being afraid.

Several community meetings in Vukani have proved that even though there is a CPF in existence, not everyone knows who is a member, and how members are elected. During a meeting on the 24th of September, which took place on a field in Vukani, this issue was raised by community members. However, there did not seem to be any CPF members present at the meeting to answer questions. More importantly, there were no CPF members present to provide visible policing, which may have prevented later threats to burn down the houses of those who did not attend the meeting.

In an attempt to establish who legitimate members of the CPF are, we attended a community Imbizo on the 14th of October. We hoped that the CPF would be identified at this meeting, both to us, and more importantly, to the community. This however, was not on the agenda. Several community members then demanded that the CPF be identified and that more effective visible policing be established in the area.

The Vukani community is frustrated with the crime in their area, and want solutions. The answer however, lies with them. Visible policing, in the form of a CPF, engages residents in the fight against crime, and reaches people who would otherwise be forgotten or ignored by the police. Two days after the community Imbizo, visible policing in Vukani was evident, with members of the community, along with police officers, patrolling the area. Hopefully, this improvement will continue long enough to reduce the crime rate in Vukani.