A sustainable development approach for community participation in community safety aspirations: Insights from Tshwane district municipality, South Africa

The soaring crimes in South Africa place the safety of individuals, communities and businesses in danger. Crime poses a serious threat to the realisation of sustainable development and community safety. Sustainable development aspirations require the active involvement of individuals and communities to address public safety challenges. This study explores the importance of community participation in community safety aspirations using sustainable development lenses. The study used Tshwane District Municipality as a case. A qualitative research approach was adopted. This operated within the exploratory research design. A purposive sampling technique was adopted to select the participants. Community members, Ward Councillors, and members of Community Police Forums (CPFs) gave their insights to the study. A total of 25 respondents participated in the study. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions and analysed through the Thematic Content Analysis. The study findings revealed that community members feel alienated from law enforcement initiatives and dissatisfied with their level of participation in local safety initiatives. In highlighting the importance of community participation in community safety endeavours, the study established that community participation fosters collaborative strategies. The study further revealed that community participation cultivates increased engagement, provides culturally relevant practices and effective resource allocation in pursuit of safer communities in South Africa. This study denotes that the sustainable development approach to community safety is fundamental and provides direction into how the well-being and resilience of societies can be realised.  The research highlights the importance of strengthening the role of communities in decision-making processes and prioritising community needs and expectations in local safety initiatives.