Speech by Minister of Police Mr E N Mthethwa, on the occasion of the release of the Crime Statistics for the 2008/09 Fiscal year

Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee
Provincial MECs present
National Commissioner, BH Cele
Deputy National Commissioners
Divisional Commissioners
Provincial Commissioners
Members of the media both local and international
Ladies and gentlemen
Fellow South Africans

These factors speak to the continued relevance of a multipronged approach in the fight against crime, combining aspects of crime prevention, crime combating, and the improvement of socio-economic conditions and strengthening of the spirit of Ubuntu and human solidarity among citizens.

Today’s briefing focuses on the release of the South African Police Service’s (SAPSs) crime statistics for the period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009. Government releases these statistics once a year and to provide the public with an indication of the crime situation in the country. Crime statistics are used daily as a management tool to guide operational plans for the SAPS.

As government we need to reiterate that the release of the statistics is not merely to quantify crime or to create a debate in our society. We believe that this is a call to action for government, Business, NGOs and communities.
As you will observe in the various break-down of crime trends over the past fiscal year, there are areas where we are making progress. At the same time there are other areas where we are still lagging behind. Nevertheless, the ANC government remains unmoved in its commitment to securing a better life for all and the fight against crime is an integral part of ensuring this better life.

Contact crime currently accounts for 32.7% of all crimes. It is this form of crime with which violence is normally associated. We are therefore encouraged by the decrease in five of the seven contact crime types which occurred during 2008/09.

Conversely, there are certain types of crime which increased during this same period. These increases serve to dampen some of our enthusiasm regarding the overall decrease in contact crimes.

There are four areas reflected in the crime statistics report which we are not happy about. In these four areas, crime has increased. These areas are: robbery with aggravated circumstances, sexual offences, stock theft and commercial crime.

In assessing aggravated robberies there are three areas which account for the increase. These areas are business robberies, house robberies and hijackings.
Of the three areas mentioned, the highest increase was recorded in the area of business robberies. When we break down these robberies we find that in the formal organised business sector, robberies either declined or where they did increase, this increase was generally between 3 and 4%. The area where the biggest increase occurred was in the small and informal business area. This area would include your small dealers and spaza shops etc.

Over the last few months we have been engaging the business community to assess how we can better work together to reduce these robberies. Arising from these meetings a number of key areas have been identified and have started to assist us in dealing more effectively with this form of crime.

The first relates to the type of businesses being targeted and the fact that almost 70% of all business robberies target small and informal businesses.
It is important to recognise that the police need to do more to assist and protect these small businesses. However we are also aware that certain factors make these businesses particularly vulnerable to such robberies. Issues like the availability of cash (often linked to the difficulty these businesses face when it comes to access banking services) and the unavailability of resources to implement crime prevention measures contributes to making these businesses vulnerable.

Over the next few months we will be engaging both large and smaller businesses in an attempt to see how we can support each other to reduce robberies at small business premises. We need to look at what technological measures can be introduced to assist in reducing the risks incurred by small business. Already joint SAPS/business initiatives are being piloted in Johannesburg Central and Tembisa and these focus specifically on robberies at small businesses. The lessons learnt from these two pilots will need to be rolled out to other areas of the country.

To address business robberies more generally we are working towards consolidating our partnership with business. This partnership seeks to jointly improve our efforts through, enhanced police and business crime prevention measures and improving alignment between the business sector and government. A crucial activity in this alignment process is greater information-sharing. We are confident that as we move forward with this partnership which focuses on a government-directed and led strategy supported by business, we will be able to assist in making South Africa a safer place to do business.

Cash-in-transit robberies declined by 2,3% during this period. This we agree is not much decrease as compared to the same period in the previous year, it is a decrease nevertheless. To address this, over last two months the department has focused considerable attention on the area of cash-in-transit robberies. We have started consulting with business people regarding improvement of standards within the industry. SAPS have also had a number of successes in the arrest and foiling of such robberies. There is no doubt the improved standards coupled with the proactive measure taken by SAPS have dealt a serious blow to cash-in-transit heist criminals. We believe that the increase experienced since the end of the fiscal year is likely to start declining.

We are also concerned about the increase in house robberies which during the last financial year increased by 27,3%. It is one of the crimes that are the most intrusive and personalise the crime experience. We simply cannot tolerate a situation where people do not feel safe in these areas.

Again we recognise that SAPS needs to do more to address this form of crime. To this effect under the leadership of the National Commissioner an audit has in earnest started looking at how we effectively deploy our resources. This includes human and material resources as well as the timing of our deployment. Equally we realise that we need greater engagement with affected communities. Communities must ensure that those that represent them on the Community Police Forums are an equal partner with the police in establishing the programme of action in addressing the needs and to monitor the implementation thereof. This engagement will assist us in refining our approach to dealing with house robberies.

We have recently piloted an initiative in Honeydew involving the SAPS and Private Security companies active in the area. This initiative is aimed at reducing the risks associated with house robberies. We are currently evaluating the lessons and successes. Based on this evaluation we will develop a national approach to these crimes, if the experience is worth rolling out.

The final form of aggravated robbery that has increased significantly is that of hijacking involving both truck and car hijacking. With truck hijacking it has increased by 15,4% and car hijacking by 5%. In finding solutions to this we need to look at those strategies and approaches that worked in the past and draw lessons from these.

In tackling the illicit trade in vehicles we need to look at both the local and regional markets. The passing of the Second Hand Goods Act and the finalisation of regulations which will be implemented in January will go some way in curtailing the local market for illicit vehicles. In dealing with the local markets for stolen and hijacked vehicles we are also going to make greater use of technology to assist us in tracking and identifying such vehicles. Technology such as Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) has already been piloted within SAPS.

In dealing with the illicit regional trade in vehicles a number of interventions are planned. Some of these include working with other regional police agencies to strengthen the implementation of regional protocols and agreements surrounding the movement of vehicles and increases our capacity to embark on strategic joint operations such as Operation Salamanga. We anticipate that with the election of our National Commissioner as the head of Southern African Regional Police Chief’s Cooperation Organisation (SARPCCO) and the subsequent election of South Africa to chair the SARPCCO Council of Ministers, we will be able to use our positions to advance our tactics regarding cross border crime.

Over the last year we have implemented a number of policing strategies to address house, business and vehicle robberies. Some of these strategies have yielded considerable success. One such example is the introduction in some provinces of the War Room concept. Through this concept, suspects involved in violent organised crime have been tracked, linked to crimes and arrested.
Going forward, we are now looking to the newly formed Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) to consolidate these efforts. The DPCI is still relatively new but we are already witnessing successes. The arrest of a number of cash-in transit robbers together with the recovery of firearms used in these crimes is an example of some of these successes. Equally the DPCI played an integral part in the successful drug seizure here and in the United Kingdom when they arrested a drug syndicate operating from Durban and seized drugs worth more than R500 million. This operation took place in the weekend of the 11 to 13 September 2009.

Another area we are not happy about is the increase in sexual offences which increased by 10,1%. We are cognisant of the fact that at least in part, this increase can be attributed to changes in legislation. Under the new Sexual Offences Act, a number of new categories of crime are now included as part of sexual offences. On this matter we will only be able to do comparisons starting at the end of next year.

Despite the overall increase in sexual offences, we are heartened by the slight decline in crimes against women and children. Nevertheless, we are still not satisfied. Violence against women and children is still prevalent in our society. This phenomenon militates against our national effort to create a caring and humane society, underpinned by values of human solidarity, justice, peace and development. We need to strengthen measures aimed at fighting the spectre of violence against women and children.

The closure of special units that have focused on some of these crimes against women and children has led to significant debate. Issues surrounding the need for certain types of crimes to be addressed by people with specialised knowledge and experience have been raised. We have listened to these debates on the reintroduction of these specialised units, in particular the child protection and sexual offences units. SAPS are now looking at their reintroduction as directed by the Ministry. We are auditing available capacity with the view to strengthening these units.

The increase of 2,7% in stock theft also poses a serious challenge. This form of crime negatively impacts on the lives of people living in rural communities and requires our particular attention. Our history is characterised among others, by deliberate neglect of rural areas. The birth of democracy saw a shift in approach. Government has now placed the issue of rural development high on the agenda. This must find concrete expression in our policing strategy. Once again SAPS has begun the process of locating this as a key focal area. However we need to ensure that our programmes speak adequately to this important issue.
Stock theft is another of the areas where we are going to enhance the capacity of our units.

Another area that requires our attention is the increase in commercial crime. Commercial crime increased by 16%. Of further concern is that this increase is accompanied by an increase in the amount of money involved. Clearly this is an area that requires more focused attention by both business and government. We see the structural integration of crime intelligence and DPCI to be introduced soon as a key factor in addressing this type of crime.

We have started this overview by focusing on the negatives because it is important that we admit our challenges and seek to find concrete means of addressing them. However we also need to look at some of our successes because this can assist us to identify what has worked and helps us to adapt some of our approaches to the challenges we face.

There are four key areas where we are happy to say we have seen decreases over the last year. These areas include:
* Murder and attempted murder. Both these forms of crime have been steadily declining over the last couple of years. We are pleased to say that they have continued to decline over the last fiscal year. During this period murder declined by 3,4% and attempted murder by 4,3%.

* Assault common and assault Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH) have also declined over the last year. Assault common declined by 4,3% and assault GBH by 4,7%. As with murder we are encouraged to see that this decline is consistent with previous years.

* The dramatic decline in bank robberies is extremely encouraging. During the last financial year the number of bank robberies declined by a 29,2%. Some of the key factors contributing to our success in this area include: the partnership developed between the business and government, resulting in increased arrests of perpetrators, strict bail for offenders and measures introduced by the banks themselves.

What is equally encouraging is that ATM attacks (which are not listed as a specific category in our crime statistics) also declined by 10%. The picture between January and September of this year would seem to indicate that this 10% decline has now risen to a 75% decrease. Once again this decrease can be attributed to improved police responses and approaches as well as enhanced cooperation with the banking sector.

* One of the largest categories of aggravated robberies is that of street robberies. The decline in both street robberies and common robberies is undoubtedly a positive trend. During this period street robberies declined by 7,4% and common robberies by 8,9%. Despite this decline the number of street robberies still remains unacceptably high and we need to ensure that we do not become complacent. We must ensure that we continue to give attention to this form of crime. In looking forward there are a number of key areas of focus for the SAPS which we believe will contribute to reducing crime levels in the country.

Some of these measures include:
* A more concerted focus on the role that intelligence can play in supporting our approach to crime. We have recognised that intelligence should act as a nerve centre and has a crucial role to play in all aspects of policing. We are currently revitalising our intelligence component. Part of this revitalisation includes ensuring the integration of intelligence into all aspects of policing and this will be anchored through the DPCI.

* We have been working with the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development on amendments to Section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act. We are at the stage of finalising these amendments which will go before parliament during the 4th session of this year. These changes are being made in order to strengthen the hand of the police in dealing with violent criminals. We are generally humbled by the support shown by the majority of the members of the public in this regard. It is important to mention at this point, that trigger happy members must not think that this is a license to kill. It is a measure aimed specifically at dealing with serious violent crime and dangerous criminals. Alongside these changes, we have strengthened the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD). We see the strengthening of the ICD as an important measure to ensure that changes to Section 49 are not abused. Legislation to this effect will be introduced in due course.

* The government has focused attention on the revamping of the Criminal Justice System. The basis for this is to ensure a far better integration of the different departmental role players in the Criminal Justice environment. SAPS have focused considerable energy on efforts to establish a transformed Criminal Justice System. In this regard we have started to increase the number of detectives and focus on intensified and improved training aimed at reaching a guilty verdict. We believe that if we can considerably increase our conviction rate that trust in the SAPS and the Criminal Justice system will improve. It is our belief that while there is still significant work to be done, the work that has been done over the last year provides a strong base upon which we can build. We are also hoping that the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill will be finalised during the 4th session of Parliament this year.

* It is apparent to all of us that the police alone cannot win the fight against crime. We acknowledge that criminals do not live in isolation from communities. Therefore we need to deepen our partnership with communities. In this regard, the Ministry has established a dedicated unit to focus on deepening the interaction with communities, civil society, business, faith-based organisations and the different spheres of government.

* Management and control of some of our borders is a major challenge. Cabinet has recently agreed that, at least until 2010, the SANDF will be re-engaged in securing our borderlines. The Justice Crime Prevention and Security Cluster has also been tasked by Cabinet to address the matter of border control. The cluster is developing a comprehensive approach and plan to deal with this area.

One of the areas that we haven’t touched on in this address is the number of police officers killed in the line of duty. We are profoundly distressed by the number of South Police members who have died in the line of duty. On behalf of the department our sincere condolences go out to the family and loved ones of those officers who gave their lives so bravely. We will persist in addressing the dangers that face our heroes and heroines in blue and to find ways of implementing measures that will protect them.

In conclusion we wish to reconfirm our unwavering commitment to fight crime and work toward ensuring a safe environment to the benefit of all South Africans. In areas where there have been positive in-roads, we wish to reiterate that we will continue to work hard and smart to entrench these successes. Accordingly, in areas where there have been some increases in crime, we re-commit ourselves to finding and working with all stakeholders to ensure we create a safer South Africa. This is our mission and this is our conviction.

I thank you.

Issued by: South African Police Service
22 September 2009

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