Locating police service points in rural areas of South Africa

Abstract

A total count of 2,178,700 crimes was committed in South Africa during the year 2012 (Crime Stats SA, 2012). 15,940 murders were committed, resulting in a murder rate of 31.8 per 100,000 inhabitants, and ranking South Africa at the 12th highest murder rate in the world (Crime Stats SA, 2012). These alarming crime rates need to be reduced. Consequently, the need for safety and security is growing among South Africans. This is especially true for the communities living in the rural areas of South Africa: nine of the ten district municipalities with the highest murder rates are in rural areas (South African Press Association, 2011). The South African Police Service (SAPS) has recognised the need to improve policing services in combatting crime. However, the SAPS is currently not visible or accessible in the rural areas, so that people have to travel long distances to access basic policing services. These rural areas are situated in municipal districts that are underdeveloped, known as Integrated Sustainable Rural Development (ISRD) nodes. The SAPS needs to locate police service points to meet the growing need of the communities living in the ISRD nodes. This project may assist the SAPS to create a safe and secure environment for the people living in the Central Karoo district by determining the number of, and optimally locating, police service points. This is achieved through the development and implementation of two mathematical models: the set covering problem (SCP) and the maximal covering location problem (MCLP) models. The SCP model determined the minimum number of police service points needed to cover the entire population, while the MCLP model located a limited number of police service points that would cover as much of the population as possible. SAPS‟s resources are limited, so only a limited number of police stations can be located in the Central Karoo. The MCLP model was therefore used to identify the optimal locations for the SAPS police facilities. Thirteen ideal locations were identified that between them would ensure that 92.9% of the entire Central Karoo population were no more than 20km away from the nearest police station. This solution could assist the SAPS in their quest to combat crime and provide increased security and protection for the people living in the Central Karoo.