South African policing at a crossroads

This article explores the distinct but related notions of ‘minimal’ and ‘minimalist’ policing in the context of South Africa. We argue that these conceptions can shape a new vision for the future of policing in this country, one which is especially needed at a time when the political elites are seeking to re-militarize and centralize policing. This article searches for an answer to the question: Who should the public police be in emergent democracies where there is a plurality of policing providers, state and non-state? Drawing on research conducted in the city of Durban this article demonstrates that, to a large extent, policing is being carried out by agents other than the police. In this context, the article articulates a more circumscribed role for the police in a time (and place) of uncertainty, one that is anchored in local structures of strategic planning and regulation. Within such structures, non-state actors should be supported to play meaningful roles in ‘everyday policing’, but in ways that are moderate and bound by legal constraints within a human rights framework.