TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN? Sector policing and community policing forums

In its efforts to address crime the South African Police Service is increasingly focused on the implementation of sector policing. This is a strategy that calls for a more focused approach to policing at the local level, and includes the establishment of sector policing forums. Indeed, sector policing could be seen as a way of enhancing community policing. One of the key challenges is to ensure that these new police-community based structures do not experience the same shortcomings as community policing forums. This article will describe sector policing and consider some of the challenges to its effective implementation.