Trade union Solidarity and rights lobbyists AfriForum will lead marches against crime around the country on Wednesday.
With their supporters wearing an item of red clothing, the organisers hope to have people marching in at least 300 towns and cities across the country.
They will hand over a memorandum to police stations and ask the police and government to “bring an end to the terrible bloodshed in the city, province and country”.
A mini music festival featuring mostly Afrikaans performers has been arranged for the Pretoria marches, where protest “teams” plan to fan out to 27 police stations in the city between noon and 2pm.
The Pretoria gathering will be at the Harlequins Club, in Totius Street in Groenkloof, from 10am.
From 12.30pm, victims of crime and their families will hold a wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate their loved ones.
Solidarity’s humanitarian wing Solidarity Helping Hands will also participate.
In earlier statements, Solidarity spokesperson Dirk Hermann said the point of the marches was not just to highlight concerns over crime, but to get communities involved in anti-crime initiatives with the police and to highlight the shortage of police stations in some areas.
An extract of the memorandum reads: “We feel that crime is currently out of control and that people in South Africa consequently fear for their safety.
“Through this protest memorandum we want to voice our anger about the crime situation and indicate that we will not allow crime to be regarded as a normal part of society.
“Crime is abnormal and this is why we are protesting against it. The day we stop protesting is the day we will have lost the fight against crime.” — Sapa