18 July 2006
Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesperson on Safety and Security, Ms Dianne
Kohler-Barnard has, via the media, accused police top management of selectively
giving crime statistics out to certain publications and withholding such
information from the public at large. Actually, the information she is
referring to is readily available to all South African communities via
Government's web site.
Government's Programme of Action is accessible via the internet at http://www.info.gov.za/aboutgovt/poa/report/jcps.htm.
The aim of making this report available is to ensure that Government's efforts
to reduce serious and violent crimes are transparent and can be easily accessed
and understood by members of the community.
Ms Kohler-Barnard should visit the web site and she will then undoubtedly be
in a position to acknowledge that the information shared with a Sunday
newspaper can not be classified as crime statistics. The figures refer to
police successes that are arrests made and evidence gathered during crime
prevention operations and reported by South African Police Service (SAPS)
operational commanders. Crime statistics on the other hand relate directly to
incidents of crime which are reported to the police and collected via our crime
administration systems to give us an indication of crime patterns and trends on
which we can base our planning.
Crime statistics are released in the South African Police Service's Annual
Report on a yearly basis and management of the police has not deviated from
this policy. The information on operational policing activities which was given
out is readily available for all interested parties on the said web site, which
is updated regularly.
Issued by: South African Police Service
18 July 2006
Source: South African Police Service (http://www.saps.gov.za)
