By Anica Hattingh
On 8 September, Stellenbosch Municipality formally launched their pioneering Rent-a-Cop initiative in partnership with the Stellenbosch Improvement and Trade Initiative (SITI) Special Rating Area (SRA). This initiative is the first of its kind and will allow residents and businesses to directly fund additional municipal law enforcement officers to improve public safety in their community.
In 2020, the Stellenbosch Council adopted the Externally Funded Officer Policy, which enabled this initiative. This policy created the legal framework necessary for Rent-a-Cop. It also ensures that community-driven safety partnerships are possible – while officers remain under the authority of the municipality, rather than private entities.
Although funded externally, these officers are not “private police”. They remain fully accountable to the Stellenbosch Municipality’s Law Enforcement Department, which retains command and oversight. This ensures that professional standards, municipal priorities, and legal requirements continue to guide their work. “This is about supplementing, not replacing, municipal services,” said a senior law enforcement official at the launch. “Our officers remain public officers, sworn to uphold the law equally across Stellenbosch. The funding mechanism may differ, but the mandate does not.”
The structure of the initiative calls for six municipal law enforcement officers to be deployed in the Central Stellenbosch area. They will operate within the SITI SRA alongside six contracted security personnel. This structure allows a visible and responsive team tasked with maintaining public order. The team’s duties include 24-hour patrols in the central business district, bylaw enforcement (e.g. addressing noise complaints, illegal trading or public drinking) and crime prevention measures. The focus of their duties is to support the South African Police Service (SAPS) operations by alleviating the pressure of petty crimes.
The launch of the Rent-a-Cop project in Stellenbosch’s central district is the initiative’s pilot project. If successful, the project could serve as the template not just for other parts of town, but also for other municipalities across South Africa struggling with similar constraints.
As Stellenbosch Mayor Jeremy Fasser noted at the launch, “This is only the beginning. Our hope is that this model will evolve, expand, and inspire others. Safety is a shared responsibility, and this initiative is a reminder that when we work together, we can create lasting change.”
The coming months will reveal whether this partnership lives up to its promise. For now, Stellenbosch stands at the forefront of reimagining how municipalities and communities can collaborate to safeguard public spaces.
This feels dystopian. Giving people who already have access to the wealth to hire private security, and thus stripping away police officers who may be in more impoverished areas, feels like a very large step in the incorrect direction.