The hot button topic of rural safety will be discussed when Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police holds a public hearing on the police’s current rural safety strategy on Wednesday.

Some of the organisations that will be invited to give input to the committee include the African Farmers Association of Southern Africa, Agri-SA, SA National Civic Organisation and the Congress of SA Trade Unions.

“The maximum participation of civil society and organised labour is vital to ensure a vibrant and effective rural safety strategy,” said committee chair Francois Beukman.

The purpose of the hearing will be to evaluate the police’s current rural safety strategy and determine whether more resources should be allocated to priority stations.

The involvement and challenges of communities in Community Policing Forums and Safety Forums will also be discussed.

The Committee will use the 2017/18 statistics as a guide in evaluating the performance of rural and semi rural stations.