Projects > Brief descriptions > Urban Conflict Management Project (UCMP)

Contact person

For further information please contact:
Mr Ulrich Burgmer
Tel: +27 12 3420181
Fax: +27 12 4304117
Email: ulrich.burgmer@gtz.de

Urban Conflict Management Project (UCMP)

Project description

Title: Urban Conflict Management Project (UCMP)
Commissioned by: Bundeministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ)
Country: South Africa
Lead executing agency: Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG), Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department (TMPD)
Overall term: 1999 to 2010

Context

South Africa has a high crime rate. The situation is worse in urban areas, and especially in the so-called townships, mainly due to the legacy of apartheid.

In these areas, many young people grow up in difficult social conditions, in an environment of poverty, where violence is promoted as the solution to conflict. The local and national government police services in South Africa work hand in hand with community-based programmes to assist in the challenging task of crime prevention and crime management.

The Urban Conflict Management Project (UCMP) started in 1997. It is now part of the focal area ‘Local Governance and Development’.

Objective

Strengthening of conflict management capacities in civil society; enabling communities to reduce crime.

Approach

UCMP has designed a pilot approach focusing on crime prevention in urban areas. This includes various sites (disadvantaged neighbourhoods) in Pretoria and Johannesburg.

Through the project, the people in the community build structures offering services that complement those of the police and have a clear emphasis both on crime prevention and conflict mediation. At the same time, the project addresses two of the main causes of conflicts: unemployment and a future without prospects.

At the core of the project are young people living in townships. They can apply to work voluntarily as Community Peace Workers (CPWs) in their community. In close coordination with police, the CPWs receive training that enables them to negotiate and mediate in potential violent crime situations. They conduct regular street patrolling, visit schools, attend events and organise cultural and sporting activities, such as “kick AIDS” soccer games. Thanks to their work in the programme and the visibility this generates, they gain trust and credibility in the community and have a high impact in preventing violent acts, particularly in disputes within families and between neighbours. At their headquarters in the community, the CPWs can be contacted by anybody wishing to report a conflict or seeking mediation. The CPWs provide advice and mediate between the conflicting parties. Very often they are able to help parties reach a consensus and settle the conflict. All cases are duly documented and, if they cannot be solved, forwarded to the police or the appropriate authorities.

During and after their year working on the project, the CPWs receive training not only for the skills they need as peace workers, but also basic and advanced life skills such as business English and computer skills that better enable them to enter the labour market and find a job or become self-employed.

Results achieved so far

The project approach has proven to be very successful. Many conflicts that might lead to violence and crime can be settled. The project as a whole makes a major contribution to crime prevention. All project activities are implemented in close coordination and cooperation with police and government authorities. Most of the CPWs and former CPWs confirm that the training and voluntary work as CPWs has significantly contributed to developing their prospects for the future. Ninety percent of CPWs have been successful in finding a job after working on the project, many of them with the police or in the private security industry.