page_title: Orania, Northern Cape
section_title: Law enforcement
hierarchical_section_title: Orania, Northern Cape / Politics and administration / Law enforcement
caption_attribution_description: English: Orania Veiligheidsdienste (OVD) securing a road after a truck breakdown
context_page_description: Orania is an Afrikaner town in South Africa located along the Orange River in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape province. The town is split in two halves by the R369 road and lies halfway between Cape Town and Pretoria.
  The stated aim of the town is to create a stronghold for Afrikaans and the Afrikaner identity by keeping their language and culture alive. The town residents state that anyone who defines themselves as an Afrikaner and identifies with Afrikaner ethnicity is welcome to live in Orania.
  Critics accuse the town authorities of rejecting the Rainbow Nation concept and trying to recreate pre-democratic South Africa within an enclave, while residents contend the desire to preserve their linguistic and cultural heritage and protect themselves from high crime levels as their motivation, claiming the right to self-determination as provided by the Constitution of South Africa. The town's relations with the South African government are non-confrontational, and although opposed to the aspirations of the community, it has recognised them as legitimate.
  The small community has a radio station and its own currency, the Ora.
context_section_description: The town has neither a police force nor a prison. Traffic monitoring and minor crimes such as petty theft are handled internally. Volunteers carry out neighbourhood watch patrols. In October 2014 Orania Veiligheid (Orania Security) was established, to handle reports of illegal activities such as drug dealing or car theft, but also more trivial matters such as littering and noise complaints. Apprehended suspects are taken to the police station in neighbouring Hopetown. Residents are exhorted to use mediation and arbitration procedures made available by the town council, rather than resorting to South African courts.
  Residents perceive Orania as being safe. To maintain the picture that all is well in the community, police from Hopetown are only called in as a last resort. Local media reported on multiple cases of child abuse committed by an elderly Orania resident which went undetected for years. Town authorities were also criticized for failing to act on reports of assault and abuse against a three-year-old girl who was later murdered by her parents. The abuse was not reported to the police, as residents were afraid of being expelled for filing a report.
  On 16 September 2019 the SAPS's Child Protection Unit visited the Volkskool Orania school to investigate a case of child molestation against a student teacher. The teacher appeared before the Hopetown Magistrate's Court on a charge of statutory rape.
caption: Orania Veiligheidsdienste securing a truck breakdown site
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