A renowned journalist and political commentator gave this valuable insight at a gathering I was recently at regarding violent crime.

Whenever there is a massive shooting in the US or a terrorist attack like last week’s in Moscow, he noted how as South Africans we are quick to be shocked – often breathing a sigh of relief that it doesn’t happen in our country. Except it does, he correctly argues.

Every day in our communities, on our streets, in shebeens and behind closed doors. Just because these murders aren’t carried out by one individual, they happen on a daily basis in communities in which citizens are the most vulnerable.

While all crime is abominable, it is murder that illustrates the full extent of the violence within our communities. And the latest crime stats released last month show we are losing the fight and moving backwards.

The crime statistics for the third quarter of 2023 reaffirm the unease and anxiety that South Africans are forced to live with every day, as our neighbourhoods and communities remain playgrounds for criminals.

Police minister Bheki Cele announced during the three-month period from October 1 2023 to December 31 2023, 7,710 people were murdered in SA. That means, on average, 83 people are killed each day. This is a 2.1% increase year on year. In addition to this, there were 7,927 attempted murders over the same period.

The threat to life from violent crimes affects everyone – no one is immune. Prominent rapper Kiernan Forbes (AKA), amapiano artist Oupa John Sefoka, known as DJ Sumbody, musician Itumeleng “Vusi Ma R5” Mosoeu, are just some of the most recent murders. There was also an assassination attempt on the vice-chancellor of Fort Hare. These were high-profile incidents of crimes but killings happen daily across SA without any hope of the culprits being apprehended.

It's not a money issue, but a policy issue, as the Institute of Security Studies' Gareth Newham argues well. In referring to murder in particular, he says that police cannot solve the murder cases they are investigating despite a “ton of money thrown at” them.

In 2012, he says, police could solve about a third of all murder cases but last year “they could only solve 14% of murder dockets, while their budget last year was 72% higher than what it was in 2012.”

It is clear from data that our policing system is deteriorating, and it is clear from public sentiment that citizens feel unsafe and don’t trust the police to combat crime. This is a justice issue as much as it is a safety issue.

To address this, Bosa’s policy solution is to localise policing to communities. Political scientists Jerome Skolnick and David Bayley describe localised policing as a “strategy for improving relations between the police and the public while strengthening police effectiveness in preventing and controlling crime”.

It has four elements: (1) the organisation of community-based crime prevention, (2) the reorientation of patrol activities to emphasise non-emergency servicing, (3) increased police accountability to local communities, and (4) the decentralisation of command.

Globally, common elements of localised policing have arisen, including town hall meetings and so-called problem-oriented policing, which entails police and citizens identifying specific areas where specific types of crime are occurring and working together to define solutions.

This provides a real opportunity in SA. Communities know who the tsotsis are, where they live and how they operate. Yet, all policing is directly from central in Pretoria. This is the reason we can catch and convict criminals. A one-size-fits-all approach isn’t working and it is straining police-citizen relations.

How do we achieve this? First, through the formation of small regional and municipal police forces with a strong volunteer component and the additional authority to deputise private security providers with peace-officer status.

In addition, policing will be decentralised by devolving police powers to the provinces and municipalities who will be able to raise their own police forces made up both of permanent officers and well-trained community volunteers. Accountability to communities will be enforced by making the office of station commander an elected position by the community that a police station or agency serves.

The private sector will be enlisted to provide well-functioning forensic services, laboratories, and databases, so criminal justice is not delayed or denied because of inadequate forensic work. We will also establish better cooperation and working relationships between police forces and private security providers, including the power to deputise private security officers to perform certain basic police duties.

Lastly, we will establish a specialist investigative and prosecutorial team whose sole focus is to hunt down, apprehend, and convict a list of the nation’s 100 most-wanted violent criminals. This list will be continually updated and will target the country’s most notorious crime syndicates and street gangs.

The quality of any society is reflected by the safety and security of its most vulnerable members. African societies where young children play freely, express themselves wholeheartedly, while learning in nurturing environments, best reflect the freedom we so dearly fought for. Sadly, too few parts in this country know this type of freedom to be a norm. Our mission is to build a safe, secure and crime-free SA for all its citizens.

• Maimane is a leader of Build One South Africa (Bosa)