When quizzed on whether the community was receptive to the establishment of a community policing forum, the response was the there was overwhelming acceptance of the concept generally, but those with criminal links detested the idea. The forum at this area was chosen at the chief’s kraal, the whole community came and nominations were made. If there were objections, the person had to decline the nomination.

They also mentioned that there is sufficient cooperation between the community policing forum and the chief/traditional authority or structures. These structures usually enquire of about community police’s effectiveness in crime fighting where they fail to address criminal activities. They usually want to have frequent reports from the forum, on criminal activities in the area. Reports are furnished to the traditional authorities on every arrest made. The community police further mentioned that traditional authorities are very supportive, and they usually caution them to take proper evidence to court, and to listen through cases, and report to them on the outcome of the case. This reporting procedure is important, so that the chief of the area knows if the accused is acquitted or convicted.

The discussion on the involvement of the traditional authorities took a different turn when elements of double jeopardy sprung up. The community police mentioned that after a convict has served his sentence, he must come back and be placed on trial for the offence of disturbing the community under the jurisdiction of the chief. All attendees at this workshop saw nothing wrong with this double jeopardy. They believed that it was for the good of the community, and would work as a deterrent to would be offenders.

When dealing with crime that occurs across community boundaries, the community stated that there is sufficient cooperation amongst community police from different chiefdoms. The traditional authorities (chiefs) are also involved in fostering such cooperation. This makes it difficult for thugs from one area to run and hide in a neighbouring area with weaker enforcement mechanisms.

After establishing the background our team moved on with presentations on various aspects of the law, including the prohibition on torture, private arrest, arrest procedure, law of evidence, double jeopardy, the standard of the reasonable man and bail.

The following is a summary of the questions and answers that were exchanged as part of the training:

JusticeMakers: How do you travel between places in carrying out your w policing work?

Community Police: We travel on foot, and only engage the police once we have found the exhibits/evidence with the accused. Even after arrest, we make the accused walk to the police station, sometimes the police will reimburse, sometimes they will tell you they do not have money, you must sort yourself out.

Siphofaneni is urbanising, and has become a town, and with that an increase in population and crime. How has that affected you? 

Yes we have a big problem in that area, especially the theft of goats, since there is a high demand from the Asian community for goat meat. But we have managed to intercept these. Yes, they usually steal the male goats, we go after the initial thief who captured and sold the goat.

In carrying out your work, do you sometimes come across cases where suspects become violent? Suspects who resist arrest?

The law states that we should not arrest any suspect whom we can see is dangerous, instead we should call the police. The problem is the state police will sometimes take forever to respond to our calls.

Who then follows up the matter where the police have delayed after your distress call?

The matter simply falls away. No one explains why they did not come. But if the station commander is there, and the matter is reported to him, the junior officers do run.

Do you sometimes use force in carrying out your duties?

We must tell the truth, in our area, Mahlabatsini, we respond urgently to distress calls. We are usually armed with knobkerries, and threaten to use force if the person is trying to resist arrest. Usually they bow down to the threat of the use of force. Yes we do, but the law says you cannot beat up a suspect, or use minimal force. Station commander said the law does not allow us to use force, but that we should call the police instead.

What my colleague just said is true. If we can see that the person is not dangerously armed, say with a gun, we seek reinforcements, and approach the suspect in large numbers. We then overpower the suspect and call the police. If we realize he is too dangerous, we just guard him, and tell the police to come quickly.

In the early 1990s, we used to use violence on suspects, but then we were brought for trial on so many instances. We stopped. Today the crime has gone down, and we have a new breed of criminals. We now deal with petty issues of children who need discipline. The criminals/suspects would turn around and accuse you of beating them without cause. The focus changes and rests on the violence you used.

If the court imposes a fine for using violence on a suspect, who pays?

It is the accused community police officer who pays up.

Sometimes you arrest suspects found with evidence/exhibits, and the police delay in coming through, what happens?

We usually take both accused and the evidence to the police station. In one instance where I had a suspect with a heavy exhibit, and I could not organize back up, I organized a private car from one gentleman and the station commander reimbursed the costs of fuel. That made us happy.

Whose phones do you use?

We use our own cellular phones. We regard the hotline 999 as a form of compensation, since it is toll free. But they are usually slow.

What do you use to effect arrests?

We use wires or ropes. The state police will substitute the wire for their handcuffs, but we are conscious of the person’s needs and we do not tie him to injure him. There is one suspect who surrendered to me after hacking another one in the community. I did not even tie him up, I simply accompanied him to the police station.

And how is domestic abuse in the area?

There are cases of this nature, but the rate is going down. Myself, I have only attended to one case of domestic abuse in my area.

Domestic abuse is there, especially against the elderly, sexual abuse. There is one case that involves a bedridden woman. We can only thank the NGOs that have come through and empowered the community to report such matters.

Are men abused? We are still scared of reporting abuse, even though we as men are also victims of abuse. We are afraid of social stereotypes. We do come across such cases in the community as community police, but you can tell that the problem is widespread and that people (men) are afraid of reporting.

What is the effect of the Maganu (marula) season on crime? This season brings with it a lot of headache for community police. People get into conflict during the drinking sessions but by morning the people have sobered up and they have reconciled. You are then left alone as a community police officer, with no complainant. Also, one woman lost 11 goats at once, due to theft. There are some shebeens that don’t close and operate all night long, and this is the breeding ground for crime in the area. When they leave the watering hole, they seriously crave meat which leads to the increase in theft of goats and chickens. We need the intervention of the chief’s authority in the cases of shebeens that do not close. Young men are seen dead drunk in the area as early as 5am. This is ridiculous. In Mambane area, after 8pm, no one wonders around, maybe that is because there is a heavy presence of the military.

Is there a curfew in your area?

No.

On Monday, this week, around 8.30 pm I came across a child in the footpath, she was in distress. I heard a voice from the forest asking me to capture the child. It later turned out it was her mother, who was chasing the child with a view to punishing the child for losing her school shoes. The child was badly beaten. I had to take the child and place her in safe custody overnight. I returned the child in the next morning, and warned the mother that her acts were criminal.

We once had a rule that 5pm was the cut off time for watering holes in the area, this was later ignored and shebeens stopped closing at this time. I was once attacked around 11pm, the thugs (young men) kicked the door and it cracked in half, I opened my eyes and above me was knife-like object. They were demanding money. I took a chance and grabbed the home made knife he was carrying, we fought and he escaped. This night drinking habit is posing a lot of dangers for our youth and our community. But old people are also involved in these incidents.