on release of crime statistics, Charles Nqakula, MP, Minister for Safety and
Security
3 July 2007
Introduction
The release today of the crime trends report of the South African Police
Service (SAPS) introduces changes that were announced last year regarding how
we would publish those reports in future. The report covers the 2006/2007
Financial Report.
This report will not replace the release in September of the SAPS annual
report. That report is an account to parliament by the police on the work they
have done and how they have handled the budget allocated to them for the
financial year under review. The annual report follows clearly defined
prescripts that include an audit by the Auditor-General before submission to
parliament.
We are exploring other measures regarding future releases of the crime
trends report as that matter relates, particularly to the timelines we want to
define in an attempt to shorten the reporting cycle.
Social crime
The report on crime trends show that crime levels in South Africa continue
to drop. We are deeply concerned, though, that crime continues to be rife and
that the crime rate continues to be high. The fact that instances of serious
and violent crime are very high is disconcerting and unacceptable.
Serious and violent crime defines, in the main, murder, rape, serious and
violent assault and indecent assault. The attempts to commit those crimes are
also depicted as serious and violent crime.
During the period under review, the overall decrease in contact crime, where
physical injury is visited upon a victim and where death often occurs, was
3,0%, well below the 7 to 10% reduction we want to achieve.
Our analysis, as well as other independent surveys, continues to show that
at least two thirds of all serious and violent crimes happen between people who
know one another and who will be found mostly within the confines of the same
social environment. The trigger for such crimes, more often than not, is
alcohol and substance abuse. Some of the cases, of course, are crimes of
passion that happen between lovers. Those crimes happen mostly outside the
reach of conventional policing. The police, in those circumstances, are largely
reactive in their response. Of course, there have been cases where the police
have been able to stop family hostage dramas and family feuds that have had the
potential to take life.
Commenting on the phenomenon of social crime in her regular column
yesterday, Jennie Ridyard, in a piece under the heading 'Time to end paranoia
in the suburbs,' wrote among other things:
"Yet still, statistically, your gun is more likely to kill a member of your
family than it is to save your life. Statistically a woman is still safer
walking down the street at night than she is in her own home, for it is here
that she's most likely to be raped, beaten or murdered by the very person who
promised to love and cherish her. Statistically stranger danger isn't nearly as
dangerous as friend danger, for abuse is most likely to happen when the
perpetrator is known to the victim."
Her argument must not be misunderstood. She was not saying that murderers do
not kill strangers and that rapists do not rape strangers. Indeed,
approximately 20% of serious and violent crimes are committed against victims
by strangers who are carrying dangerous weapons in aggravated robberies. In at
least 15% of the murders, according to the current review, firearms were used
in the robberies.
There have been high profile cases in South Africa that relate to family
murders, including the killing of the son of the City Press editor, Mr Mathatha
Tsedu and the stage star Taliep Petersen. Both cases are before court.
The serious and violent nature of crime in South Africa is the subject of a
study that is being done for government by the Centre for the Study of Violence
and Reconciliation (CSVR). The study is intended to help government to find
answers to why there is so much violent crime in South Africa and why most of
it is violence between people who know one another. The answers to those
pertinent questions will enable government to design appropriate responses.
Overview
The statistics demonstrate, once more, that the social conditions under
which people live have an impact on the incidence of crime in South Africa.
Poorer communities experience more violent crime than wealthier ones.
There was a spike in aggravated robbery in the second quarter of last year
(April to June). That contributed to the increase by 2,4% of the murder rate.
Aggravated robbery indicated an increase of 4,6%. But, the biggest portion of
aggravated robbery during the period under review was street robbery where
dangerous weapons were used. That accounted for 72,7% of all aggravated
robberies. It was followed by carjacking (10,7%), robbery at residential
premises (10,1%) and robbery at business premises (5,3%). The most dramatic
crimes, cash-in-transit and bank robberies were, respectively, 0,4% and
0,1%.
Given that those robberies are accompanied by bloodletting where heavy
calibre firearms are used by organised criminal gangs and that innocent
bystanders are often caught in the crossfire, and the fact that the incidents
happen in broad daylight, on our roads and streets and around banks and
shopping malls, they have had a devastating effect on the psyche of the
nation.
Most serious crimes during the period under review occurred in a minority of
the more than 1 100 police station areas nationally. For example all murders
happened in 8,5% of police precincts while sexual offences were recorded in
10,3% station areas. What that tells us is that there are particular geographic
areas where such crimes occur and the socio-graphic reading of those areas
indicates poor economic conditions.
The serious and violent social crimes occur mainly over weekends where
alcohol and substances are abused. A further analysis has shown that the
majority of the crimes happen during the holiday months of December and
January. The lowest crime rates are recorded during the winter months of June
and July.
Interventions
There are various interventions that we are making to enhance the police
project to prevent and combat crime. We are, in the first instance, mobilising
the masses of our people to participate in the effort to provide safety and
security to our nationals and visitors to our country.
Community Policing
Community policing is a philosophy of policing we believe will serve better
the interests of our people and consolidate the country's programme of national
security. Community policing defines a role for the masses of the people in
crime prevention and combating on the basis that the law enforcement agencies,
especially the police, cannot fight crime effectively if they do not enjoy the
active support of the people. Indeed, in instances where that support is
available, crime levels have gone down in the concerned areas.
In the coming months, we are going to strengthen community policing as a
vehicle of change in our policing method. Key to the project is the role of the
Community Policing Forums that will be redesigned and recast so that they can
co-ordinate the relationship between the communities and the police. The people
will report back regularly to the communities on crime trends in their areas
and how the police are engaging with that. The reporting cycle will not be more
than three months.
Restructuring
There are changes we are making to the police service as a necessary step
towards better policing and improved services. We have redefined the local
police station as the crucible of such service delivery.
The restructuring of SAPS started only in August last year. A detailed
assessment of the effectiveness of the changes will be done next year. But, we
can say right here and now that there is an indication in some cases of the
wisdom of pushing more resources to the station level and empowering that level
to prevent and combat crime.
The revised structure incorporates the advantages of decentralisation of
work and authority along with specialised skills that will be available at
station level thereby reducing response times and providing better service
delivery. In the circumstances, experienced operational managers and personnel
from forty-three area offices in the nine provinces as well as from the
national and provincial offices, where necessary, were redeployed to police
stations to boost the administrative and operational managerial ability of the
stations and increase the staff complement. In addition a computerised
performance measurement system was introduced within the SAPS to assess and
evaluate police performance.
Training
The positive statistical trends in general are a pointer to the new
programmes that have been devised by the South African Police Service.
In order to qualify for recruitment into the police, new trainees have to
undergo training for 12 months before they are enlisted into the police.
Thereafter, they are subjected to probation for a further 12 months. During the
first six months, the recruits are trained at any one of 11 training institutes
throughout South Africa. The next six months are for field training under a
Field Training Officer at a designated training station.
At the end of the first 12 months, the recruits are monitored and assessed
as part of their probation. The programme has produced well-trained police
officials. This is supplemented by various in-service training courses for
specialisation.
The detective learning programme has been increased from six weeks to 14
weeks and is presented at the Detective Academies in Hammanskraal and Paarl.
The detectives are trained in a variety of courses, including those connected
to counter terrorism, commercial crime, organised crime, family violence, child
protection and sexual offences, and serious and violent crime.
Challenges
Challenges remain in other categories of our crime prevention and combating
programme. Alcohol and drug abuse continues to be a problem. SAPS initiatives
against this scourge include a liquor control strategy, and domestic violence
programme as well as programmes for youth and homeless children.
We are also collaborating with departments in the Justice Crime Prevention
and Security Cluster (JCPS) such as Justice and Correctional Services. We are
also working together with departments like Health, Housing and Education as
well as local government authorities and non governmental organisations
(NGOs).
Over the past five years the joint effort on the ground by all role players
produced the following results:
* significant successes in the war against crime by the police and other law
enforcement agencies
* decreases in crime levels through police interventions and joint operations
with other law enforcement agencies in respect of serious and violent
crimes
* major decreases regarding property-related crime like burglary at residential
and non-residential premises, theft of motor vehicles and motorcycles, theft
out of or from motor vehicles as well as stock theft.
Finally, South Africa should be reminded of the invaluable and selfless role
that the South African Police Service is playing in shaping and protecting our
society. We often take this for granted.
During the period under review 108 of our members were murdered while on
duty. We honour those fallen heroes and wish to salute their families for
having allowed them to serve our country in the pursuit of peace and stability,
despite the dangers inherent in policing.
Issued by: Secretariat for Safety and Security
3 July 2007
