News and events

Crime figures 'a call to action'

Share |

23 September 2009

While encouraged by decreases in five out of seven "contact" crimes for the year ended 31 March 2009, the South African government is deeply concerned about increases in aggravated robbery – particularly house and business robberies and hijackings – sexual offences and commercial crime.

According to the South African Police Service's crime statistics for the period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009, murder and attempted murder decreased by 3.4% and 4.3% percent respectively compared to the previous year, while common assault was down by 4.3% and serious assault by 4.7%.

Aggravated robbery

In the category "robbery with aggravating circumstances", bank robberies fell by 29.2% over the same period, while cash-in-transit robberies declined by 2.3%. Street robberies and common robberies were also down, by 7.4% and 8.9% respectively.

Business robberies, however, increased by 41.5% compared to the previous year, house robberies by 27.3%, and truck and car hijackings by 15.4% and 5% respectively.

Commercial crime was up by 16% over the previous year, and sexual crime by 10.1%.

'Can't be tolerated'

Speaking at the release of the statistics in Pretoria on Tuesday, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said house robbery was one of the most intrusive crimes. The government simply could not tolerate a situation in which South Africans did not feel safe in their homes.

Mthethwa said that the release of the crime statistics was aimed at not merely at quantifying crime in the country, but at calling on the government, business and civil society to take concerted action.

National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele said that, rather than "folding our arms and crying" about increases in crimes such as house robberies, the police needed to improve their strategies and their programmes and "find answers to the problems".

New measures

Mthethwa said the police were working on new measures to tackle crime in the country, including finalising amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act, revamping the criminal justice system, partnering with communities, and revitalising the role of intelligence.

"Part of this revitalisation includes ensuring the integration of intelligence into all aspects of policing, and this will be anchored through the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, or the Hawks," Mthethwa said.

Amendments to Section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act were being finalised and were expected to go before Parliament before the end of the year. While the amendments to the law would not give police "a licence to kill", the minister said, they would strengthen the hand of the police in dealing with violent criminals.

The government was in the process of revamping the country's criminal justice system, to ensure better integration of the different departmental roleplayers in the criminal justice environment.

Work had also begun on increasing the number of detectives in the police service, with a focus on intensified and improved training.

Mthethwa conceded that management and control of some of South Africa's borders was "a major challenge", adding that the government was developing a comprehensive plan to combat transnational organised crime.

The Cabinet recently agreed that, at least until the end of 2010, the South African National Defence Force would be re-engaged in securing the country's borders.

Source: BuaNews