Cash-in-transit heists have increased by 74,1% in the past year, the South African Police Service revealed on Wednesday in releasing the country’s annual crime statistics.
Car-hijackings were up also by 3,1%, the police said in a statement ahead of the official release of the statistics at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
”In terms of raw figures, there were 163 more [cash-in-transit] incidents during the year under review … and this is a trend which is receiving urgent attention in partnership with the South African Banking Risk Information Centre [Sabric],” said police spokesperson Director Sally de Beer.
However, Dr Johan Burger, a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies’ crime and justice department, said because the definition of cash-in-transit heists has recently been aligned by terms set out by Sabric, certain considerations had to be made.
”Previously, cash-in-transits were robberies involving vehicle heists,” Burger said. ”Police didn’t include cross-pavement robberies [in previous statistics] — that is, small amounts of money moved between people and buildings.”
”It [the number of heists] is still very, very serious,” Burger said. But because of this change in definition, the percentage could be slightly less than depicted.
Drug-related crimes increased by 13,2% and driving under the influence of alcohol increased by 9,9%,” De Beer said.
However, it was emphasised that increases in crimes ”heavily dependent on police action for detection” — like drug-related offences — were indicative that the police were carrying out their duties proactively.
But ”there is always room for improvement,” Burger told the Mail & Guardian Online. ”Vehicle thefts, hijackings and cash-in-transit heists could be addressed more effectively.
”There could be increased police presence and more effective investigations, so criminals get the sense that they will be apprehended,” Burger said.
The police said murders, rapes and indecent assaults were still ”cause for concern” even though they had shown decreases.
Murders had decreased 2%. However, the murder rate had shown an overall decrease in the past 11 years.
”Murder is a crime that has consistently decreased since 1994, and that is very good news, although more still has to be done,” Burger said.
According to the statistics report there were 18 528 murders during the 2005/2006 financial year, which is 2% less than the previous year, but short of the 7% to 10% percent reduction target set by government for contact crimes.
Chris de Kock, head of the crime information centre, explained that it would be difficult for murder to decrease by 7% over the next few years. He said most murders were committed by people who knew their victims.
”No policing can prevent this type of contact crime; we have to have a police officer in every house to prevent this,” De Kock said.
”The only thing that can prevent this is socio-economic development.”
He said community involvement was also important.
”The community must also do something. It can not only be expected of police and government to solve these types of crime.”
Rapes decreased by only 1%, with 54 926 incidents being reported. Indecent assault decreased by 3,7% with 9 805 incidents being reported.
The police, however, did have some success with attempted murder, which decreased by 16,6% and common assault, which decreased by 15,6%.
”The latest decrease in murder, even if only 2%, should not be regarded as a deviation from the overall downward trend over the past eleven years, or as an indication that this trend is about to end,” the report stated.
”Murder will definitely decrease over the next few years,” Burger told M&G Online. ”Trends are promising because we are on an overall downward trend and not an upward trend,” he said.
The report also showed that contact crimes reflected a continuing downward trend with arson decreasing by 7,5% and malicious damage to property decreasing by 4,9%.
Of the property related crimes only theft of motor vehicles and motorcycles showed a marginal increase of 1,9%.
The other sub-categories showed a decrease. Burglary at residential premises went down 5,5%, burglary at non-residential premises dropped 3,6%, theft out of or from motor vehicles, 6,9% and stock theft, 12,6%.