Over the past ten years, police have successfully decreased contact crimes by 17.8%, contact-related crimes by 15.6%, other serious crimes by 7.6% and property-related crimes by 2.3%. However, according to the statistical date, armed robberies, burglaries and South Africa’s infamous carjackings had actually increased, while reported sexual offences, assaults and auto thefts were decreasing.
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Police in South Africa have been accused of “failing in the fight against crime”, as newly-released figures show a significant rise in murder rates.
Social mobilisation was needed in order to address the incidents of murder he said. “It will start off with a slap in the face, and can graduate to something else”.
Another very big problem related to the South African society is the very high level of sexual offenses.
He said the murder occurred mostly at night, during weekends when people were socialising, and around the festive season. Recent stats taken from other entities place the body count of people killed in rural areas at 67 with 278 attacks as at 2014 and 9 deaths and 23 attacks at February 2015 alone.
“We have seen very poor appointments at the highest levels of the organisation, people who don’t have the experience to use the considerable police resources properly, or use their power to further their own interests rather than the interests of the country”.
The DA said it was concerned that the murder rate had gone up for a third consecutive year, all under the tenure of Phiyega. There is a “causal link” between alcohol and drug consumption and violent crime.
When it comes to contact crimes, overall down by 0.95 nationally, Phiyega told MPs decreases were recorded in KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape. And that is not speculation but based on the work that has been put before us.
“These stubborn forms of crime require concerted multi-pronged interventions, which must include joint efforts by all stakeholders to radically turn the situation around”, a statement from the ANC Chief Whip’s office read. Another worrying trend mentioned was the increase of police killings around the country.
In light of all this, national government has failed in the war against crime to blame anyone province for this is a complete fabrication and deliberate misunderstanding of the law.
“National government and the SAPS [South African Police Service] are failing in the fight against crime”.
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Senior Researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, Dr Johan Burger, says it’s not only police that should be blamed for the increase in crime statistics.
