The Safety and Security department is looking at the viability of reporting crime trends to communities, Minister Charles Nqakula said on Wednesday.
”We don’t need to rely on annual crime statistics only, we need to report regular crime trends to communities,” he told a media briefing in Pretoria.
”What we are envisaging is a process where members of the SA Police Service, on a very regular basis, will go to the communities and give a full report on the crime trends in the given areas …”
Nqakula was briefing members of the media after discussions between the Big Business Working Group and President Thabo Mbeki.
Nqakula’s spokesperson Trevor Bloem said this was not to be confused with the annual release of the national crime statistics.
”This should not be confused with the annual crime statistics which are national and audited through a scientific validation process. This is to do with crime information occurring at station level.”
Bloem said it was envisaged that the report backs would take place after consensus had been reached with communities on priority crimes to be targeted at station level.
”The ministry is advocating that this should become common practice.”
The feedback could be monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly and would be based on crimes in particular areas.
Crime tended to come down where communities were involved and police were more targeted and focused, he said.
”For policing to become very effective and to achieve the results that we yearn for, there has to be very close cooperation.”
The reports would not be ”conventional statistical reports” but would rather be based on giving feedback and assessments of crime information at local level, he said.
”Crime information is really what people want. You are interested about what’s happening around you — you can take precautionary measures and find out if the police are doing their job.” – Sapa