Nigel - South Africa's rural areas will benefit from equipment purchased for the 2010 FIFA World Cup as police roll out their strategy to make these areas safer.
Speaking at the launch of the Rural Safety Plan in Nigel on Thursday, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said the time for talking about rural safety was over and the time for action had arrived.
"We secured a lot of high powered vehicles and [rural] terrain dictates the use of certain types of vehicles, so we want to see those vehicles here. We also have helicopters that were secured for 2010 and their job now is to help in the fight against crime," he said.
Mthethwa said they faced a logistics challenge in distributing personnel and resources between urban and rural areas.
Police have stressed that rural safety was not limited to farming, but also included broader communities living in rural areas.
The minister noted that people in rural areas faced the same issues of crime as those in urban areas and also needed to feel safe.
He added that police were addressing issues such as the murders of farmers and workers, as well as stock theft.
Mthethwa called on farming communities to work together to improve their safety.
Andre Botha, chairperson of AgriSA in Gauteng, said commercial farmers would support the Rural Safety Plan vigorously.
"Farm murders are a problem throughout South Africa, especially in Gauteng.
We have the unfortunate status of being the province with the most farm murders. Together, we can alleviate the problem and go forward to create a better society for all," Botha said.
Gauteng Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Mzwandile Petros, said the high visibility of police in urban areas had displaced crime to rural area in the province.
Police would now use the flying squad and suitable vehicles to monitor rural areas.
Rural areas have been demarcated into sectors, each allocated two patrol vehicles. The flying squad would complement the sector policing.
