By Laea Medley, Saskia Kuiper and Warrick Smith
‘Xhasa’ – support. During our engagement with the communities of both Fingo Village and Vukani we identified the issue of ‘Misplaced authority’ as a serious factor/cause of crime. The communities both lack visible and reliable sources of information and help in a crisis. Our main aim with our project was to identify the key players in the community, find out what role they played and hold them accountable to this role. This wasn’t an easy task. Many of the people we spoke to presented themselves as Community Policing Forum (CPF) members when they didn’t hold the title. This made it difficult to find out exactly who was on the CPF and whether or not they were doing their job. The communities’ major need is support both from each other, the CPF and the police to help combat and get on top of crime.
We also met with the police, who initially, were helpful and offered complaints about the community and defences for their lack of action. However, once things got down to performance and attendance, the police were nowhere to be seen. This goes for many community members too. The first few meetings we had, aimed specifically at finding out the problems, etc were very fruitful with members actually showing up and voicing their complaints. However, the next few meetings which, aimed at finding solutions and getting down to the dirty work, were literally NOT attended. We struggled to understand this, was it a) an apathy to the situation, or b) a fear for the consequences of attendance. With regards to b) a fear for the consequences of attendance, the community is riddled with the fear of two families, namely Nikelo and Ayanda. These two families have a long history of violence and abuse towards each other and have unfortunately roped in the whole community into their ‘family feud’. The result of this has been a community run by two families who are constantly in and out of jail. Not promising or reliable heads.
Our aim has been to firstly elect and clarify who exactly the CPF are and to get their pictures on a poster and out to the community. It is vital the community know who to contact if they have problems and to hold them accountable if they don’t perform their job. Our second solution is to educate the community on what their rights are, especially as a victim of crime and to make sure they know them comprehensively and exercise them confidently. We have also had meetings with the police and sent an open letter to them to make them aware of the problems the community is having with them. Their job is to protect the communities and we are making sure this is firstly their main priority and secondly they are held accountable by the community if they don’t.
The problems with crime in the Vukani area seem to stem from the lack of visibility of the CPF, and the lack of help from the police, which is reciprocated with a lack of participation from the community. We found that the majority of the community, as well as the police, are apathetic towards issues of crime, and only a few members take the initiative to be active CPF members and fight against crime.
We discovered that a “family feud” was taking place in Vukani, between the families of Michael Nikelo and Ayanda Georgela. The issues between the families are personal, but because violence is used as a way of solving these issues, they affect the whole community. Community members have been forced to choose sides, turning a family feud into a community war. The families want power, and as many supporters as possible.
The Nikelo – Georgela feud has affected not only the safety of community members, but also positions of authority that certain community members hold. At a community meeting, to which about one hundred people attended, a man representing Nikelo spoke to crowd about Nikelo’s arrest that morning, and called people to march to the Magistrate’s court, demanding his freedom. Many people at the meeting then began asking if Nikelo’s representative was a member of the CPF, and if not, who is. They wanted to know who was in charge of protecting them, and how these people are elected.
It was clear from this meeting that even though there may be a CPF in existence, the community is not familiar with its members, meaning that they don’t know who to go to with problems relating to crime. As a result, other people in the community, such as Nikelo and Georgela, claim to be members of the CPF, demanding that people listen to them, and promising protection from crime. The issue of misplaced authority results in community members not knowing who to trust.
In an attempt to solve the issue of misplaced authority in Vukani, we arranged to meet with members of the community, members of the CPF, and a few police officers. The meeting was initially arranged by the CPF and the police, and was intended to host a discussion on the problems of crime in Vukani and Fingo Village. We had arranged to attend this meeting, and hoped to show them some of our media outputs, in an attempt to create an awareness of what we had discovered in the past few weeks. However, when we arrived at the venue, no one was there, and the doors were locked. Prior to this, we received a phone call from the police, informing us that some police officers would not be attending the meeting, as it was being held on a Sunday, a day when they enjoyed getting drunk.
We concluded that lack of participation in community meetings was a clear indication of apathy amongst community members, CPF members, and the police. We found that many people were more than willing to speak to us about their concerns with crime, but when it came to doing something about it, no one could be found.
Having carried out our CMP work in Vukani and Fingo Village, we came up with a few possible solutions to the crime situation in these areas
From a television perspective, we focused on the ongoing family feud between Nikelo and Ayanda. We looked at ways in which we could control the violence resulting from this feud and bring peace. We highlighted the problem by producing a number of videos which captured both sides of the story. The aim of these videos was to reach reconciliation between the two families and end the violence surrounding them.
The sound-slides we put together focussed both on Fingo Village and Vukani, with a short sound-slide describing facets of a march, which was intended to keep Ayanda in jail. The Fingo Village sound-slide focussed on a woman and her daughter and their problems in the area, with regards to rape, assault, and theft. Through the emphasis on this sound-slide, we hope people will recognise the devastation which crime causes in the community and rally together to stop it.
From a print perspective, we published various articles informing the communities of their rights and safety measures. We distributed brochures at our community meeting, and ensured they were in both English and Xhosa. We found that many people had no understanding of what they were entitled to in terms of police enforcement. This is due to an overwhelming fear from the people of identifying criminals in the surrounding areas. With the brochures we also distributed flyers in English and Xhosa which explained the emergency procedures to take when contacting the police.
The second factor which introduced was the distribution of posters which will assist the community by pointing out measures to take in emergency procedures. We also tried to inform the community members of who the CPF members were. The police, who had this information, offered to help us, but failed to come through.
We also will be handing out a feedback report to the community stakeholders in the form a news magazine. Our aim through the news magazine is to inform the community of our findings, and to offer them viable solutions.
We also hope to bring the two families together in one room, where they can talk about the issues between them, and hopefully come to some sort of reconciliation.
As a multimedia team, we aimed to create more community meetings, bringing unity within the areas in order for people to voice their concerns about crime or other issues. This was done to gain better community involvement in the area as well as to form strong bonds with the police and the community.
As a group, we chose to also write an open letter explaining the lack of enthusiasm and interest towards protection and crime-fighting in the respective areas. We found that the police had no direct interest in assisting the people of Vukani and Fingo or assisting us as journalists in our attempt to benefit the area. We have tried to rectify this by encouraging greater cohesion between the police and the community in fighting crime as a unified entity. Through this letter, we hope to erase police apathy and create greater awareness for the community.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Who is the CPF?
By Robyn McCormick
On Wednesday the 14th October, the police called a community Imbizo in Luvuyo Hall, in Fingo Village. The matters for discussion revolved around defining sector policing, the Justice System and detectives to the community. However, the ever-important question of the identity and efficiency of the Community Policing Forum (CPF) members were not on the agenda.
The well-attended meeting was chaired by Mr Palisi, head of the CPF. Ironically, the members of the CPF were not introduced to the attending community members, and the majority of those in attendance left the meeting before its conclusion.
The mayor of Grahamstown, gave the meeting some authority. He drew attention to the fact that service delivery issues, such as the lack of lights in Vukani, have a great deal of impact on the levels of crime in the community. Unforunately however, he arrived late for the meeting and left immediately after he had spoken.
Palisi seemed reluctant to provide solutions to the lack of lights, which the residents have identified as a gateway for crime after dark. Palisi first stated that the community “can’t take it for granted that someone will fix the lights”, saying instead that “the community should take [the] issue [up] with the Ward Councillor.” He the contradicted himself, saying that the community did have enough lights, and insisted that the complaints were unfounded in the face of the community’s loud complaints. “He is lying,” stated one woman, “we do not have enough lights.”
On a new note, Palisi spoke of how he intended to start street patrols, whose job it would be to “make sure that children are studying at home after school, that every house has food parcels delivered by the government, and that people have a permit to live in this area.” Community members felt that the meeting focused too much on service delivery and not on the issue they were most concerned about: crime.
“I am lost”, said Michael Nikelo. “I thought we were going to talk about the CPF and crime, and now we are talking about food parcel delivery and street lights! You say on the meeting agenda you want a way forward, but no-one is giving one!”
Another community member, Mr. Nkabalaza, expressed concern over the taverns in the areas. He said that the police needed to make strict rules regarding tavern hours to prevent alcohol-related crimes. “They have community meetings in taverns, but this causes more drinking. There is no order. When do people close their taverns? People are drunk at seven in the morning!”
The community also raised concerns over vigilante violence being taken due to the lack of visible authorities. Members of the CPF are often criminals or are corrupt themselves, and so abuse their authority.
Despite our best attempts to question the police and bring them to task on their inaction, they continued to brush us off without providing answers. The CPF was still not introduced to the community, despite pleas in the meetings for them to be more actively involved in chairing such meetings . Eventually, Superintendent Du Plooy gave some report on police activities, saying “We have met with community leadership and deployed lots of manpower to the area. We have made quite a number of arrests, and will continue to increase visibility in the areas, and we are thinking of increasing community volunteers for crime protection, as well as establishing a mobile reporting unit in a public space; we just need volunteers to patrol it. The goal of the police is to improve response, accessibility and service.”
Despite the CPF volunteering to be more actively involved, and Du Plooy asking them for help, the meeting unfortunately concluded without reaching a resolution. Let’s hope that this time, the police deliver on their promises.
On Wednesday the 14th October, the police called a community Imbizo in Luvuyo Hall, in Fingo Village. The matters for discussion revolved around defining sector policing, the Justice System and detectives to the community. However, the ever-important question of the identity and efficiency of the Community Policing Forum (CPF) members were not on the agenda.
The well-attended meeting was chaired by Mr Palisi, head of the CPF. Ironically, the members of the CPF were not introduced to the attending community members, and the majority of those in attendance left the meeting before its conclusion.
The mayor of Grahamstown, gave the meeting some authority. He drew attention to the fact that service delivery issues, such as the lack of lights in Vukani, have a great deal of impact on the levels of crime in the community. Unforunately however, he arrived late for the meeting and left immediately after he had spoken.
Palisi seemed reluctant to provide solutions to the lack of lights, which the residents have identified as a gateway for crime after dark. Palisi first stated that the community “can’t take it for granted that someone will fix the lights”, saying instead that “the community should take [the] issue [up] with the Ward Councillor.” He the contradicted himself, saying that the community did have enough lights, and insisted that the complaints were unfounded in the face of the community’s loud complaints. “He is lying,” stated one woman, “we do not have enough lights.”
On a new note, Palisi spoke of how he intended to start street patrols, whose job it would be to “make sure that children are studying at home after school, that every house has food parcels delivered by the government, and that people have a permit to live in this area.” Community members felt that the meeting focused too much on service delivery and not on the issue they were most concerned about: crime.
“I am lost”, said Michael Nikelo. “I thought we were going to talk about the CPF and crime, and now we are talking about food parcel delivery and street lights! You say on the meeting agenda you want a way forward, but no-one is giving one!”
Another community member, Mr. Nkabalaza, expressed concern over the taverns in the areas. He said that the police needed to make strict rules regarding tavern hours to prevent alcohol-related crimes. “They have community meetings in taverns, but this causes more drinking. There is no order. When do people close their taverns? People are drunk at seven in the morning!”
The community also raised concerns over vigilante violence being taken due to the lack of visible authorities. Members of the CPF are often criminals or are corrupt themselves, and so abuse their authority.
Despite our best attempts to question the police and bring them to task on their inaction, they continued to brush us off without providing answers. The CPF was still not introduced to the community, despite pleas in the meetings for them to be more actively involved in chairing such meetings . Eventually, Superintendent Du Plooy gave some report on police activities, saying “We have met with community leadership and deployed lots of manpower to the area. We have made quite a number of arrests, and will continue to increase visibility in the areas, and we are thinking of increasing community volunteers for crime protection, as well as establishing a mobile reporting unit in a public space; we just need volunteers to patrol it. The goal of the police is to improve response, accessibility and service.”
Despite the CPF volunteering to be more actively involved, and Du Plooy asking them for help, the meeting unfortunately concluded without reaching a resolution. Let’s hope that this time, the police deliver on their promises.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Ellen's Tears...
By: Warrick Smith
Ellen is a 45 year old domestic worker who carries out her duties to three different ‘digs’ in Grahamstown. Having grown up in Vukani, a township just outside of the Grahamstown CBD, Ellen began her work as a domestic worker for students when she was 18 years old, she has been doing it all her life. She is married to Thabo and has two children, Phumelo and Doris, who have left the household. Ellen’s eldest son Thando, who would’ve been 24 this year died in a gang related incident in Vukani when he was 15 years old. First impressions of her indicate that she is much older than her actual age, her face reflects the heartache she has endured over the many years living in Vukani.
“Vukani is a horrible place to live. There is too much fighting and violence. The youth are always up to no good, they phuza, they smoke, they steal and they fight all the time. I have had enough of this rubbish, but what can I do?”, says a disheartened Ellen, “The other day, Thabo said to these boys who were making a noise outside our house at 2 o’clock in the morning, to shut up. Instead of the respect which I had learnt as a little girl, the boys threatened him and said they would kill him”. The worrying issue is that this would not be the first time that crime has affected her family. In 2000, her eldest son, Thando was stabbed outside a tavern in the early hours of the morning, he had been drinking there with a group of friends. Ellen says, “I cry for my boy all the time, whenever I see that shebeen, I see him lying there. I see his face and his shouts for me to help him. I cannot”. Months before Thando’s death he had been in and out of a group of youths who frequented taverns in the area and usually found themselves in trouble with the police and other residents in the area. “He wasn’t with good people, they made him come with them to be a ‘man’. But they took him from me, my only son”, Ellen weeps, “I hate those men, those criminals. Thando was not a criminal”.
Ellen explains that the police did little to try help her find her son’s murderer, although she did not expect their assistance. According to her, the police viewed Thando as a criminal or gang member and that his association with the gangs lead to his demise and they should not be expected to identify the responsible party. “They told me that I had let him become a criminal and that they wouldn’t get involved. The police at the time did not care for us in the township. It was a hard time”, says, a teary-eyed Ellen.
Having recently conducted a Critical Media Production in the area of Vukani and Fingo Village, the group members encountered an uninterested and unmotivated police force. Having gathered reports of police response time to be approximately three hours late, we investigated the issue and confirmed the significant disinterest in the area. Reports from whites within middle class areas had an almost instantaneous response from the police, which brought to our attention an issue which needs to be addressed.
The inequalities which residents who, like Ellen, live in impoverished areas of Grahamstown are completely unacceptable. In order for the successful combating of crime and the promotion of community policing the police service need to be involved in all areas to at equal levels. People like Thando or Ellen or anyone in the community needs to be protected and the law needs to be enforced so as to prevent crime. Until then, Ellen’s tears won't dry.
Ellen is a 45 year old domestic worker who carries out her duties to three different ‘digs’ in Grahamstown. Having grown up in Vukani, a township just outside of the Grahamstown CBD, Ellen began her work as a domestic worker for students when she was 18 years old, she has been doing it all her life. She is married to Thabo and has two children, Phumelo and Doris, who have left the household. Ellen’s eldest son Thando, who would’ve been 24 this year died in a gang related incident in Vukani when he was 15 years old. First impressions of her indicate that she is much older than her actual age, her face reflects the heartache she has endured over the many years living in Vukani.
“Vukani is a horrible place to live. There is too much fighting and violence. The youth are always up to no good, they phuza, they smoke, they steal and they fight all the time. I have had enough of this rubbish, but what can I do?”, says a disheartened Ellen, “The other day, Thabo said to these boys who were making a noise outside our house at 2 o’clock in the morning, to shut up. Instead of the respect which I had learnt as a little girl, the boys threatened him and said they would kill him”. The worrying issue is that this would not be the first time that crime has affected her family. In 2000, her eldest son, Thando was stabbed outside a tavern in the early hours of the morning, he had been drinking there with a group of friends. Ellen says, “I cry for my boy all the time, whenever I see that shebeen, I see him lying there. I see his face and his shouts for me to help him. I cannot”. Months before Thando’s death he had been in and out of a group of youths who frequented taverns in the area and usually found themselves in trouble with the police and other residents in the area. “He wasn’t with good people, they made him come with them to be a ‘man’. But they took him from me, my only son”, Ellen weeps, “I hate those men, those criminals. Thando was not a criminal”.
Ellen explains that the police did little to try help her find her son’s murderer, although she did not expect their assistance. According to her, the police viewed Thando as a criminal or gang member and that his association with the gangs lead to his demise and they should not be expected to identify the responsible party. “They told me that I had let him become a criminal and that they wouldn’t get involved. The police at the time did not care for us in the township. It was a hard time”, says, a teary-eyed Ellen.
Having recently conducted a Critical Media Production in the area of Vukani and Fingo Village, the group members encountered an uninterested and unmotivated police force. Having gathered reports of police response time to be approximately three hours late, we investigated the issue and confirmed the significant disinterest in the area. Reports from whites within middle class areas had an almost instantaneous response from the police, which brought to our attention an issue which needs to be addressed.
The inequalities which residents who, like Ellen, live in impoverished areas of Grahamstown are completely unacceptable. In order for the successful combating of crime and the promotion of community policing the police service need to be involved in all areas to at equal levels. People like Thando or Ellen or anyone in the community needs to be protected and the law needs to be enforced so as to prevent crime. Until then, Ellen’s tears won't dry.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Marching for Injustice...
By: Warrick Smith
The distant call of the rallying vuvuzela on a cold spring morning in Vukani, an area terrorised by crime as it escalates weekly. The crowd is small at first but once the people organise themselves, the singing then starts bringing more to join in the group. Young girls hold up placards denouncing crime in the area and calling for the arrest of a man named Ayanda. We as journalism students stand there oblivious to the underlying problem behind the march.
“If we don’t go march, one of the families threatens to murder us… We march and support whoever because we are afraid… The police can’t save us, they can’t save anyone”. This is the statement from a woman known as Ellen. The families consist of two groups, people who are from Ayanda’s side and the other from Nikelo’s side. There is no blood relation, people are expected to choose sides or face the consequences. If you are not with them, you are against them.
This ‘family feud’ has been raging for years according to Ellen, since the death of Nikelo’s brother. Ayanda was blamed for the murder and was arrested but not charged nor held. While Ayanda was imprisoned, Nikelo sought revenge against Ayanda’s cousin. Both men are now sworn enemies yet the irony lies in that they live only 100 metres from each other. The community has been ravaged ever since as a witch-hunt ensues pulling everyone down with it. The reason for the march today, which was covered as an anti-crime march, is solely to have Ayanda and his followers imprisoned.
The protesters, lead by Nikelo, walk the four kilometres from Vukani to the Grahamstown Magistrate with a petition to have Ayanda and members of his “gang” arrested. The tables turn for Nikelo however as his entry into the courthouse leads to his arrest on the terms of assault with the intention to do deadly harm. An entrapment most likely set up by Ayanda.
The protesters wait outside the courthouse with their placards for what seems ages before they slowly begin to shuffle back to Vukani, none the wiser as to what has happened with Nikelo inside. These people are trapped in between this deadly feud, unable to free themselves nor change their circumstances. “We often march to the court for things which we want solved only to be told to ‘keep quiet and wait outside’. No one cares for us. We are stuck”, says Ellen.
Nikelo was released from police custody on bail on 24 September. He has since then sworn revenge against Ayanda. It is unlikely that he will be marching to the Grahamstown Magistrate to seek retribution.
The distant call of the rallying vuvuzela on a cold spring morning in Vukani, an area terrorised by crime as it escalates weekly. The crowd is small at first but once the people organise themselves, the singing then starts bringing more to join in the group. Young girls hold up placards denouncing crime in the area and calling for the arrest of a man named Ayanda. We as journalism students stand there oblivious to the underlying problem behind the march.
“If we don’t go march, one of the families threatens to murder us… We march and support whoever because we are afraid… The police can’t save us, they can’t save anyone”. This is the statement from a woman known as Ellen. The families consist of two groups, people who are from Ayanda’s side and the other from Nikelo’s side. There is no blood relation, people are expected to choose sides or face the consequences. If you are not with them, you are against them.
This ‘family feud’ has been raging for years according to Ellen, since the death of Nikelo’s brother. Ayanda was blamed for the murder and was arrested but not charged nor held. While Ayanda was imprisoned, Nikelo sought revenge against Ayanda’s cousin. Both men are now sworn enemies yet the irony lies in that they live only 100 metres from each other. The community has been ravaged ever since as a witch-hunt ensues pulling everyone down with it. The reason for the march today, which was covered as an anti-crime march, is solely to have Ayanda and his followers imprisoned.
The protesters, lead by Nikelo, walk the four kilometres from Vukani to the Grahamstown Magistrate with a petition to have Ayanda and members of his “gang” arrested. The tables turn for Nikelo however as his entry into the courthouse leads to his arrest on the terms of assault with the intention to do deadly harm. An entrapment most likely set up by Ayanda.
The protesters wait outside the courthouse with their placards for what seems ages before they slowly begin to shuffle back to Vukani, none the wiser as to what has happened with Nikelo inside. These people are trapped in between this deadly feud, unable to free themselves nor change their circumstances. “We often march to the court for things which we want solved only to be told to ‘keep quiet and wait outside’. No one cares for us. We are stuck”, says Ellen.
Nikelo was released from police custody on bail on 24 September. He has since then sworn revenge against Ayanda. It is unlikely that he will be marching to the Grahamstown Magistrate to seek retribution.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Results from Civic Mapping Exercise 1:
17 September 2009, Thursday
Saskia Kuiper
We met with the various members of the community (listed below) and discussed the issue of crime within the area. We spoke about what they were presently doing about it and what they hoped would be done. We received two different stories about the Community Policing Forum (CPF), and it boiled down to the fact that the variation was mainly due to political tensions. Mr Monde said that the CPF had dissolved (previously consisting of 20 members) leaving only himself and Mrs. Staki. Mrs Fuku, the Area Councillor, however had a different story, she said that there was a running and functional CPF. Mr Monde is ANC and Mrs Fuku has apparently joined COPE, so we are anticipating political obstacles. We were however able to get the various members in agreement that a community meeting should be held, regardless of political factions, focussing solely on the issue of crime. We have scheduled a meeting with the community for Wednesday 23rd September. We are to meet Unati Nonzobo at Human Resources to book Luvuyo Hall. The community members we managed to speak to felt the main type of crime was housebreaking and mugging. They also said that the police did help them with the problems.
Saskia Kuiper
We met with the various members of the community (listed below) and discussed the issue of crime within the area. We spoke about what they were presently doing about it and what they hoped would be done. We received two different stories about the Community Policing Forum (CPF), and it boiled down to the fact that the variation was mainly due to political tensions. Mr Monde said that the CPF had dissolved (previously consisting of 20 members) leaving only himself and Mrs. Staki. Mrs Fuku, the Area Councillor, however had a different story, she said that there was a running and functional CPF. Mr Monde is ANC and Mrs Fuku has apparently joined COPE, so we are anticipating political obstacles. We were however able to get the various members in agreement that a community meeting should be held, regardless of political factions, focussing solely on the issue of crime. We have scheduled a meeting with the community for Wednesday 23rd September. We are to meet Unati Nonzobo at Human Resources to book Luvuyo Hall. The community members we managed to speak to felt the main type of crime was housebreaking and mugging. They also said that the police did help them with the problems.
Victims Rights in South Africa
Saskia Kuiper
A major concern within our community is that many of the members are not sure of exactly what their rights are both as witnesses and as victims of crime. “It's a good idea and a good initiative," says researcher and activist against gender violence Lisa Vetten. "It is also important to keep the dialogue and partnership open and engage with people.”I think a practical document that sets out rights is useful, but my concern is implementation," Vetten adds. She says the Minimum Standards on Service for Victims of Crime needs to be more specific to allow victims to know what they can request and the police to know what is required of them.
This sums up the main problem our community is facing and so we hope, through the effective implementation and of civilian rights to fix this issue.
The aim of The Victim Rights Charter is to:
• Eliminate secondary victimisation in the criminal justice process
• Ensure victims remain central to the criminal justice process
• Clarify the service standards that can be expected by and are to be accorded to victims whenever they come into contact with the criminal justice system
• Make provision for victims recourse when standards are not met
Your rights as a victim of crime are:
• The right to be treated with fairness and with respect for dignity and privacy
o You have the right to be attended to promptly and courteously, treated with respect for your dignity and privacy by all members of any department, institution, agency or organisation dealing with or providing a service to you
o The police (during investigations), the prosecutors and court officials (during preparation for and during the trial proceedings), and all other service providers will take measures to minimise any inconvenience to you by, among others, conducting interviews with you in your language of choice and in private, if necessary
o These measures will prevent that you are being subjected to secondary victimisation
• The right to offer information:
o You have the right to offer information during the criminal investigation and trial.
o The police, prosecutor and correctional services official will take measures to ensure that any contribution that you wish to make to the investigation, prosecution and parole hearing is heard and considered when deciding on whether to proceed with the investigation, or in the course of the prosecution or Parole Board hearing.
o This means that you can participate (if necessary/possible) in criminal justice proceedings, by attending the bail hearing, the trial, sentencing proceedings and/or Parole Board hearing.
o It means that you will have the opportunity to make a further statement to the police if you realise that your first statement is incomplete. You may also, where appropriate, make a statement to the court or give evidence during the sentencing proceedings to bring the impact of the crime to the courts attention.
o You may make a written application to the Chairperson of the Parole Board to attend the parole hearing and submit a written input.
• The right to receive information:
o You have the right to be informed of your rights and how to exercise them.
o You can, as part of this right, ask for explanations in your own language of anything you do not understand.
o You have the right to receive information and to be informed of all relevant services available to you by service providers
o You will be informed of your role in the case and of the approximate duration of the case. You can request in formation regarding court dates, witness fees and the witness protection programme.
o You can request to be informed of the status of the case, whether or not the offender has been arrested, charges, granted bail, indicted, convicted or sentenced.
o You are entitled to receive documents that the law entitles you to have access to.
o You can request a notification of proceedings which you may want to attend
o You can request the prosecutor to notify your employer of any proceedings that necessitate your absence from work.
• The right to protection:
o You have the right to be free from intimidation, harassment, fear, tampering, bribery, corruption and abuse. If you are a witness, you must report any such threats to the police or senior state prosecutor.
o The police will, if you comply with certain requirements apply for you to be placed in a witness protection programme. You will be protected, as far as possible, from all forms of undue influence, harassment or intimidation.
o This will ensure your safety as a witness and the availability of your testimony, and prevent you from withdrawing from giving evidence as a result of undue influence.
o In certain circumstances, the court may prohibit the publication of any information (including your identity), or may order that the trial be held behind closed doors.
o You can request Correctional Services to inform you if the offender has escaped or been transferred
• The right to assistance:
o You have the right to request assistance and have access to available social, health and counselling services, as well as legal assistance which is responsive to your needs.
o The police will assist you by explaining police procedures, informing you of your rights, and making the appropriate referral to other relevant service providers.
o The office manager or head of office at the court will provide for the services of an interpreter.
o The prosecutor will ensure that special measures are employed in relation to sexual offences, domestic violence and child support or maintenance matters, and that, where available, such cases are heard in specialised courts.
o If you have special needs, the authorities will take all reasonable steps to accommodate you and ensure that you are treated in a sensitive manner.
• The right to compensation
o "Compensation" means an amount of money that a criminal court awards a victim who has suffered loss or damage to property, including money, as a result of a crime.
o You have the right to compensation for loss of or damage to property suffered as a result of a crime.
o You can request to be present at court on the date of sentencing of the accused and request the prosecutor to apply to court for a compensation order.
o The prosecutor will inform you if a compensation order has been granted, explain its contents and how to enforce it. The clerk of the court will assist you in enforcing it.
o You can institute a civil action against the accused if a criminal court does not grant a compensation order. (This usually happens where the damages are not easily quantifiable in financial terms, for example, in the case pain and suffering.)
• The right to restitution:
o "Restitution" refers to cases where the court, after conviction, orders the accused to return or repair the property or goods.
o You have the right to restitution in cases where you have been unlawfully dispossessed of goods or property or where your goods or property have been unlawfully damaged or taken from you.
o The prosecutor will inform you what restitution involves and the clerk of the court will assist you in enforcing this right
A major concern within our community is that many of the members are not sure of exactly what their rights are both as witnesses and as victims of crime. “It's a good idea and a good initiative," says researcher and activist against gender violence Lisa Vetten. "It is also important to keep the dialogue and partnership open and engage with people.”I think a practical document that sets out rights is useful, but my concern is implementation," Vetten adds. She says the Minimum Standards on Service for Victims of Crime needs to be more specific to allow victims to know what they can request and the police to know what is required of them.
This sums up the main problem our community is facing and so we hope, through the effective implementation and of civilian rights to fix this issue.
The aim of The Victim Rights Charter is to:
• Eliminate secondary victimisation in the criminal justice process
• Ensure victims remain central to the criminal justice process
• Clarify the service standards that can be expected by and are to be accorded to victims whenever they come into contact with the criminal justice system
• Make provision for victims recourse when standards are not met
Your rights as a victim of crime are:
• The right to be treated with fairness and with respect for dignity and privacy
o You have the right to be attended to promptly and courteously, treated with respect for your dignity and privacy by all members of any department, institution, agency or organisation dealing with or providing a service to you
o The police (during investigations), the prosecutors and court officials (during preparation for and during the trial proceedings), and all other service providers will take measures to minimise any inconvenience to you by, among others, conducting interviews with you in your language of choice and in private, if necessary
o These measures will prevent that you are being subjected to secondary victimisation
• The right to offer information:
o You have the right to offer information during the criminal investigation and trial.
o The police, prosecutor and correctional services official will take measures to ensure that any contribution that you wish to make to the investigation, prosecution and parole hearing is heard and considered when deciding on whether to proceed with the investigation, or in the course of the prosecution or Parole Board hearing.
o This means that you can participate (if necessary/possible) in criminal justice proceedings, by attending the bail hearing, the trial, sentencing proceedings and/or Parole Board hearing.
o It means that you will have the opportunity to make a further statement to the police if you realise that your first statement is incomplete. You may also, where appropriate, make a statement to the court or give evidence during the sentencing proceedings to bring the impact of the crime to the courts attention.
o You may make a written application to the Chairperson of the Parole Board to attend the parole hearing and submit a written input.
• The right to receive information:
o You have the right to be informed of your rights and how to exercise them.
o You can, as part of this right, ask for explanations in your own language of anything you do not understand.
o You have the right to receive information and to be informed of all relevant services available to you by service providers
o You will be informed of your role in the case and of the approximate duration of the case. You can request in formation regarding court dates, witness fees and the witness protection programme.
o You can request to be informed of the status of the case, whether or not the offender has been arrested, charges, granted bail, indicted, convicted or sentenced.
o You are entitled to receive documents that the law entitles you to have access to.
o You can request a notification of proceedings which you may want to attend
o You can request the prosecutor to notify your employer of any proceedings that necessitate your absence from work.
• The right to protection:
o You have the right to be free from intimidation, harassment, fear, tampering, bribery, corruption and abuse. If you are a witness, you must report any such threats to the police or senior state prosecutor.
o The police will, if you comply with certain requirements apply for you to be placed in a witness protection programme. You will be protected, as far as possible, from all forms of undue influence, harassment or intimidation.
o This will ensure your safety as a witness and the availability of your testimony, and prevent you from withdrawing from giving evidence as a result of undue influence.
o In certain circumstances, the court may prohibit the publication of any information (including your identity), or may order that the trial be held behind closed doors.
o You can request Correctional Services to inform you if the offender has escaped or been transferred
• The right to assistance:
o You have the right to request assistance and have access to available social, health and counselling services, as well as legal assistance which is responsive to your needs.
o The police will assist you by explaining police procedures, informing you of your rights, and making the appropriate referral to other relevant service providers.
o The office manager or head of office at the court will provide for the services of an interpreter.
o The prosecutor will ensure that special measures are employed in relation to sexual offences, domestic violence and child support or maintenance matters, and that, where available, such cases are heard in specialised courts.
o If you have special needs, the authorities will take all reasonable steps to accommodate you and ensure that you are treated in a sensitive manner.
• The right to compensation
o "Compensation" means an amount of money that a criminal court awards a victim who has suffered loss or damage to property, including money, as a result of a crime.
o You have the right to compensation for loss of or damage to property suffered as a result of a crime.
o You can request to be present at court on the date of sentencing of the accused and request the prosecutor to apply to court for a compensation order.
o The prosecutor will inform you if a compensation order has been granted, explain its contents and how to enforce it. The clerk of the court will assist you in enforcing it.
o You can institute a civil action against the accused if a criminal court does not grant a compensation order. (This usually happens where the damages are not easily quantifiable in financial terms, for example, in the case pain and suffering.)
• The right to restitution:
o "Restitution" refers to cases where the court, after conviction, orders the accused to return or repair the property or goods.
o You have the right to restitution in cases where you have been unlawfully dispossessed of goods or property or where your goods or property have been unlawfully damaged or taken from you.
o The prosecutor will inform you what restitution involves and the clerk of the court will assist you in enforcing this right
Intro for News Mag
Intoduction for News Magazine
Saskia Kuiper
‘Xhasa’ – support. During our engagement with the communities of both Fingo Village and Vukani we identified the issue of ‘Misplaced authority’ as a serious factor/cause of crime. The communities both lack visible and reliable sources of information and help in a crisis. Our main aim with our project was to identify the key players in the community, find out what role they played and hold them accountable to this role. This wasn’t an easy task. Many of the people we spoke to presented themselves as Community Policing Forum (CPF) members when they didn’t hold the title. This made it difficult to find out exactly who was on the CPF and whether or not they were doing their job. The communities’ major need is support both from each other, the CPF and the police to help combat and get on top of crime.
We also met with the police, who initially, were helpful and offered complaints about the community and defences for their lack of action. However, once things got down to performance and attendance, the police were nowhere to be seen. This goes for many community members too. The first few meetings we had, aimed specifically at finding out the problems, etc were very fruitful with members actually showing up and voicing their complaints. However, the next few meetings which, aimed at finding solutions and getting down to the dirty work, were literally NOT attended. We struggled to understand this, was it a) an apathy to the situation, or b) a fear for the consequences of attendance. With regards to b) a fear for the consequences of attendance, the community is riddled with the fear of two families, namely Nikelo and Ayanda. These two families have a long history of violence and abuse towards each other and have unfortunately roped in the whole community into their ‘family feud’. The result of this has been a community run by two families who are constantly in and out of jail. Not promising or reliable heads.
Our aim has been to firstly elect and clarify who exactly the CPF are and to get their pictures on a poster and out to the community. It is vital the community know who to contact if they have problems and to hold them accountable if they don’t perform their job. Our second solution is to educate the community on what their rights are, especially as a victim of crime and to make sure they know them comprehensively and exercise them confidently. We have also had meetings with the police and sent an open letter to them to make them aware of the problems the community is having with them. Their job is to protect the communities and we are making sure this is firstly their main priority and secondly they are held accountable by the community if they don’t.
Saskia Kuiper
‘Xhasa’ – support. During our engagement with the communities of both Fingo Village and Vukani we identified the issue of ‘Misplaced authority’ as a serious factor/cause of crime. The communities both lack visible and reliable sources of information and help in a crisis. Our main aim with our project was to identify the key players in the community, find out what role they played and hold them accountable to this role. This wasn’t an easy task. Many of the people we spoke to presented themselves as Community Policing Forum (CPF) members when they didn’t hold the title. This made it difficult to find out exactly who was on the CPF and whether or not they were doing their job. The communities’ major need is support both from each other, the CPF and the police to help combat and get on top of crime.
We also met with the police, who initially, were helpful and offered complaints about the community and defences for their lack of action. However, once things got down to performance and attendance, the police were nowhere to be seen. This goes for many community members too. The first few meetings we had, aimed specifically at finding out the problems, etc were very fruitful with members actually showing up and voicing their complaints. However, the next few meetings which, aimed at finding solutions and getting down to the dirty work, were literally NOT attended. We struggled to understand this, was it a) an apathy to the situation, or b) a fear for the consequences of attendance. With regards to b) a fear for the consequences of attendance, the community is riddled with the fear of two families, namely Nikelo and Ayanda. These two families have a long history of violence and abuse towards each other and have unfortunately roped in the whole community into their ‘family feud’. The result of this has been a community run by two families who are constantly in and out of jail. Not promising or reliable heads.
Our aim has been to firstly elect and clarify who exactly the CPF are and to get their pictures on a poster and out to the community. It is vital the community know who to contact if they have problems and to hold them accountable if they don’t perform their job. Our second solution is to educate the community on what their rights are, especially as a victim of crime and to make sure they know them comprehensively and exercise them confidently. We have also had meetings with the police and sent an open letter to them to make them aware of the problems the community is having with them. Their job is to protect the communities and we are making sure this is firstly their main priority and secondly they are held accountable by the community if they don’t.
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