Making Soweto a crime-free zone

By Sheree Russouw

TO a tourist, Orlando might seem like heaven. It is where former president Nelson Mandela's modest first home is situated, just down the road from Archbishop Desmond Tutu's house. A few kilometres away in the relatively plush suburb of Orlando West, you can find Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's compound-like mansion. And it is here where apartheid police gunned down 12-year-old Hector Pieterson, a child who has become an icon of the Soweto 1976 student uprising.

Because Orlando is a premier tourist destination in Soweto, there is a need to protect foreign visitors from criminal elements in the area, says Sechaba Khumalo, the chairman of the Greater Orlando Community Policing Forum (CPF). It is one of 11 CPFs operating in Soweto, south of Johannesburg.

Khumalo, who has lived in Orlando for all of his life, says the area has extremes of wealth and poverty, with surrounding squatter camps being the most destitute. "There are a lot of tourists who visit our area. Here, we have the Tutu and the Mandela clans. We are always trying to improve it."

The 10 executive members of the CPF built Orlando's first trauma centre as a gesture of support for victims of crime. "Every victim is important to us," says Khumalo. "Local constituents elect the executive, drawn from organised structures such as business, women and youth groups and non-governmental organisations, to head the CPF." He stresses that there is no top-down leadership - everyone works together collectively.

Each morning, members of the CPF meet with the police for a crime roundup, discussing crimes that have been reported in the previous 24 hours. They also meet weekly to brainstorm on projects to combat crime.

The station commander of the Orlando police station, senior superintendent Ngwako Mashao, agrees. "The crime level in Orlando is subsiding. The community has helped to reduce crime and I think we are moving in the right direction." This kind of co-operation between law enforcers and locals that, Khumalo believes, has led to a 16% drop in serious violent crime.

Orlando is plagued by "social fabric crimes", he says. Top of the list are assault, domestic violence and property-related crimes. "It's not simple to manage these kinds of crimes but with the community involvement of the CPF, we are mobilising the community," says Mashao.

The teamwork between the police and locals has paved the path to success in its sector policing initiatives. Orlando has been divided into five different areas, with one police officer stationed in each area. Together with the officer, residents work in patrol groups monitoring and policing different sectors. "Our sector policing is working perfectly," says Mashao. "We involve schools, churches and non-governmental organisations and we share information about cases."

In Orlando, the spirit of ubuntu is flourishing, which means that community members have become active crime-fighters. "We are lucky because we have a very supportive community," says Khumalo. "We know that if we want our programmes to succeed, we have to work for it." But he stresses that in a community made up of thousands of people, more involvement is possible. "If we have a community of 6 000 people, then the work of 300 is a drop in the ocean."

Thanks to the CPF, the police are no longer viewed as enemies of the people, he adds. "There have been dramatic changes in the way that the police are viewed by the community. We have open days at the police station so that communities can check the strengths of the police."

Mashao welcomes this changing attitude of Orlando residents to the police. "The community is becoming more and more involved. They are reporting crimes to the police. The attitude of the community is gradually changing and I've seen a change of mindset."

There is undoubtedly respect for the work of the police in the CPF. "People are beginning to realise that the police do much more than simply arrest suspects," says Khumalo. "They do affidavits, and provide information about accidents. They are there to protect the community." Now the CPF rewards the best performing police officer with a certificate. "It means so much to that police officer just to get that certificate recognising how hard he or she has worked throughout the year."

The CPF is on a mission to attract more young people into policing their community. While it does have a volunteer base of youngsters who patrol the township, training programmes are often hampered by a lack of training facilities. At the moment, Soweto only has one training base, which is located at the Protea North Police Station.

Because of lack of funding, residents often have to dig into their pockets to fund forum projects. "We are surviving but we need big business to come on board and lend us a hand. We are trying to mobilise local resources but the businesses in the townships are unlike those businesses in the white areas. In the white areas, they are much more viable and ready to support you financially," says Khumalo.

For more information, contact Sechaba Khumalo at (011) 935 8432 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Alternatively, you can speak to Senior Superintendent Ngwako Mashao at (011) 935 1011.