Crime is down, but who would know?

Share current article via Email Share current article via Facebook Share current article via Twitter Share current article via LinkedIn Murder in SA is down 5.9% in the first quarter of the financial year. File photo: Story audio is generated using AI Statistics are a vital part of South Africa's crime-fighting armoury, but even when they are down, as the most recent figures released by the SAPS are, South Africans do not feel much safer in their homes and public spaces. For good reason. While law-enforcement top brass, and at least one former minister, are trying to evade the truth at the Madlanga commission about their cosy relationships with known underworld figures, the public has to endure a sustained deluge of serious crimes. Women and children are especially in danger. The good news, if one can call it that, is that murder is down 5.9% in the first quarter of the financial year, with 5,427 people murdered, equal to one person every 24 minutes. There has also been a reduction in carjackings, business robberies and cash-in-transit robberies. However, attempted murder and assaults increased. At least three police officers were murdered in the course of their work recently. Of the SAPS's 42,648 vehicles, 6,925 were not serviceable Liquor and unemployment are important drivers of crime, especially crimes against women and children, with rapes numbering 6,569, or 72 a day. A factor that distorts the relatively better crime figures is the absence of confidence in the police to act. Only 37% of cases of theft of personal property are reported, according to Stats SA, reflecting a general loss of confidence in the police. The crime detection rate is about 12.5%, according to the Institute for Security Studies, meaning most crimes go unsolved. Where police are committed to their work, they are often hamstrung by poor support. At least three police officers were murdered in the course of their work recently. Of the SAPS's 42,648 vehicles, 6,925 were not serviceable. While the SAPS is to be commended for doing a reasonable job in tough circumstances, winning the war against crime will require community involvement, committed police work and broader social changes, among which reducing unemployment is the most important. And cleaning up the top ranks, as the Madlanga commission is attempting to do, is an important step towards providing South Africans with a police force that has their backs.