The Port Alfred community has shown what effective community policing should look like.
Faced with the alleged rape of a seven-year-old girl and the escape of the 20-year-old suspect, residents could easily have allowed anger and fear to dictate their response.
Instead, they mobilised, found the fugitive and handed him over to the police unharmed.
That distinction matters enormously.
There is nothing wrong about demanding justice.
In fact, what these residents did was considerably harder than giving in to anger. They had a suspect in their hands and chose not to punish him themselves.
They respected the law, preserved his constitutional rights and allowed investigators and the courts to do their jobs.
The Sarah Baartman district commissioner, Major-General Thandiswa Kupiso, described this as a milestone for community-policing partnerships.
“Their actions mean our FCS detectives can now present a clean, legally sound case to the courts without any side investigations.
“We praise this community for choosing justice over violence.”
It is the kind of relationship between residents and police that communities need. It is an important example because the alternative is all too familiar.
We have all seen news reports about the consequences when communities cross that line.
A few years ago, three young men in KwaNobuhle were allegedly dragged away, severely beaten and set alight after being accused of stealing a car.
In another disturbing case, a community in the Eastern Cape had developed what was described as a “parliament” where suspected criminals were brought before residents and assaulted.
These incidents underline why the Port Alfred example deserves attention.
Community policing does not mean communities becoming police officers, prosecutors, judges and executioners.
It means residents becoming the eyes and ears of the police.
The alleged crime against the child is horrific, and the residents’ anger is entirely understandable.
But justice is not measured by how violently society can respond.
What the residents did is community policing worth celebrating.
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