High-level conference to focus on rural crime

CRIME affecting farming communities will come under the spotlight at the first-ever international rural crime conference‚ to be hosted in South Africa in September.

The event is being organised by the University of South Africa’s school of criminal justice together with agriculture bodies, including AgriSA.

It will see academics‚ police officials‚ private security officers‚ lawyers and trauma counsellors gather to discuss how best to tackle the challenges of rural crime and its impact on the agriculture sector.

According to AgriSA, the conference will look at the theft of agricultural commodities‚ challenges and shortcomings of the criminal justice system in rural areas and the effect and influence of cross-border crime on the agricultural sector.

It will be held on September 27 in Centurion.

“Given the premium placed on agricultural development and job creation in the sector‚ the safety and security situation in the rural environment is becoming more alarming and very delicately poised despite efforts to address the situation by various roleplayers‚” AgriSA’s Kobus Visser said.

He said the situation not only affected commercial farmers and farm workers, but also small-scale farmers “who may lose a whole herd of cattle in a single theft act‚ ruining the livelihood of that family”.

“The seriousness of this crime and the violence committed against these communities‚ are of dire concern. It is believed through the discussions at the conference‚ solutions may be found to address the challenges,” Visser said.

Institute for Security Studies senior researcher Dr Johan Burger said the conference was important.

“We have crime conferences throughout the country‚ throughout the year. One of the biggest concerns in South Africa‚ arguably‚ is rural crime,” he said.

“Apart from the human lives and property affected as a result of these crimes‚ there is the impact on employment and economy. Rural crimes survive because of rural economies.

“Rural crimes have for some reason become a politicised issue, which it should not be.

“Hopefully where there is this type of conference‚ we will be able to keep politics out of it and focus on the problem at hand,” he said.

Small-scale farmers ... may lose a whole herd of cattle in a single theft