Angella Johnson
REPORTED incidents of rape in Johannesburg went up 64% in the last half of 1996 compared with the previous year, according to police figures which were due to be published this week but have been witheld by National Police Commissioner George Fivaz.
The report, which was obtained by the Mail & Guardian, and which was three months in compiling, shows a surge from 502 to 823 in rapes investigated from July to December 1996. The total annual rise on the previous year was 1 310 to 1 518 – nearly 16%.
Police say this may be because more people are becoming willing to step forward when attacked rather than more incidents taking place.
“In our opinion an increased trust in policing as well as awareness campaigns conducted in schools and other sectors have led to an increase in the number of rapes reported,” the report concluded.
Other crimes which soared in the second half of 1996 after the launch of Operation Sword and Shield, Fivaz’s ambitious police plan, include drug dealing – up by 25% – and fraud – up by 10%.
Commercial crimes also rocketed – by a massive 74% over the previous year, from 234 to 474. This figure, however, probably represents only a fraction of the actual crimes committed. Most experts agree that companies often fail to go public for fear of attracting negative publicity.
But not all crimes have increased. Ten of the 14 crime categories prioritised by Johannesburg police, including car theft and burglaries from residences and businesses show a drop in 1996 when compared with figures for the previous year. However, the figures do show that police are still battling to win the war against serious crimes such as murder which increased from 1 091 in 1995 to 1 107 in 1996 (1,5%).
The figures cover central Johannesburg, and its northern and southern suburbs, but exclude Soweto.
A police statement explaining why the report was being withheld said: “The reason for the postponement is that reports relating to the release of crime statistics may only be released if they are synchronised with the latest national quarterly report.”
While Johannesburg police were blocked from disclosing their statistics, the Western Cape this week released figures showing they had reduced the incidence of gang- related crimes, drug peddling and taxi violence.