There is no reason for the government to feel complacent about crime, as it is clear the war against crime is far from won, the Democratic Alliance said on Tuesday.
The annual crime statistics — for the 2004/05 financial year — were released by Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula and senior South African Police Service (SAPS) officers in Pretoria on Tuesday.
The latest statistics reveal an average drop of 5% to 6% in most categories of crime, but also show increases in others, such as drug-related crimes.
DA MP Roy Jankielsohn said while his party welcomes the fact that the statistics reveal a reduction in several crime categories, it remains concerned that the government has yet to achieve the ”dramatic reduction in the crime rate that is possible”.
Millions of South Africans continue to live with the horrifying reality of crime, especially violent crime, on a daily basis.
”There is therefore no reason for government to feel complacent, as it is clear the war against crime is far from being won,” Jankielsohn said.
The only way the government can achieve a dramatic reduction in crime is by ensuring that the basic tenets of policing, the prevention and detection of crimes, are dramatically improved.
”It is simply unacceptable that, for example, the SAPS in Gauteng is operating without half of the crime-prevention members and a third of the detectives it requires to operate optimally.
”Until massive shortages such as these are addressed, we will continue to see crime remaining at an unacceptably high level,” he said.
From the statistics it is clear the government is not achieving its stated goal of reducing contact crimes by 7% to 10% a year, with murder for example, only having declined by 5,6%.
”The minimal decline in burglaries at both residential and non-residential premises is probably more reflective of lower reporting rates than of an actual decline in these types of crimes.”
As statistics on drug-related crime are not reliant on being reported to police, but rather on actual police raids or operations, the 33% increase in this category points to police success in combating this type of crime.
However, the disturbing increase in cash-in-transit robberies is most likely a consequence of the police shortages the DA warned of previously.
”It must also be borne in mind that some of today’s statistics are up to 18 months old, and do not, for example, reflect the recent upsurge in armed robberies at retail outlets.
”This underscores the need for crime statistics to be released on a monthly basis at the station level.
”This will not only avoid turning the release of crime statistics into an annual media circus, but also allow citizens to be properly informed about crime trends where they live and work,” Jankielsohn said.
‘South Africans still not feeling safe’
Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille said statistics are important in terms of planning and prioritising the allocation of resources in areas where they are needed most.
”But what is more important is that South Africans are still not feeling safe in their homes, streets, churches and schools,” she said.
Of particular concern is that while the statistics reveal an average decrease of between 5% and 6% in most categories of crime, they also reveal a significant increase in others, especially drug-related crimes and rape.
”This makes South Africans feel unsafe in places where they reside,” she said.
African Christian Democratic Party leader Kenneth Meshoe commended all police officers who have worked hard to keep crime levels down.
”We are, however, concerned about the increase in drug-related crimes. Whenever there is an increase in drug-related crimes, there is a parallel increase in statistics for rape, indecent assault and driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.”
Of major concern is the 8% increase in incidents of indecent assault.
”If government allows continued assault of the most defenceless group of people ‒- our women and children -‒ it has failed us dismally.
”Rape has increased by 4%. This is a reflection of the negative influence pornography has on our society,” Meshoe said.
Women victims of crime
Pieter Groenewald of the Freedom Front Plus said the statistics show that women, especially, become victims of crime in South Africa.
”All the violent crimes — murder, robbery and ordinary assault — show a decrease, except for rape and indecent assault,” Groenewald said.
Business against Crime CEO Kenny Fihla said many of the crime challenges are now being tackled in a coordinated manner.
”Success is reflected in the crime statistics released by the SAPS, as well as information obtained from the business sector independently,” he said.
But Fihla said while successes are being notched up, some areas remain a challenge, such as armed robberies in the banking and retail sectors.
”These may have declined in real terms during the period under review, but we are worried about the apparent increase in the sophistication and the violent nature of these robberies,” he said.
Trends from across various industries show that concerted efforts by the government and interested parties to reduce crime have restricted crime levels, notably in the past two years.
But Fihla added that the level of violence in crime remains unacceptably high. — Sapa