Crime stats must translate into action

CRIME is not just a statistic.

It is a scourge that affects ordinary citizens on multiple fronts, and a call to action.

On the surface, crime might rob one of material possessions or – even worse – precious lives.

But in addition, it rips away peace of mind, causes psychological trauma and stress and leaves exorbitant financial losses in its wake linked to insurance claims and malicious damage to property – not to mention the cost of installing alarm systems and other prevention mechanisms with monthly fees.

So the spike in violent crime as revealed by the statistics for the 2016/17 financial year cannot be taken lightly.

The figures during the period of April last year to March this year revealed that 4 014 people were murdered in the province.

Furthermore, South Africa as a whole witnessed six times more murders (per 100 000) during this period than the global average, whilst carjacking and robbery with aggravated circumstances stats are at their highest for the past decade.

Sadly, crime and violence remain disturbingly high in South Africa and poverty, inequality and unemployment are not the only factors contributing to its rise.

This is a highly organised and lucrative syndicate robbing the economy of millions of rands daily.

Between 2015 and 2016, some 2,1 million crimes were reported, with break-ins at residential properties making up more than a quarter of a million cases.

A recent Statistics SA report showed that South Africans simply did not feel safe in the country – and there was little faith in the SAPS to combat rising crime levels.

It is obvious the State must provide more resources, funds and manpower to tackle crime on all fronts.

An already overstretched and overburdened criminal justice system is clearly not handling the workload and intervention is crucial.

In Zululand, for instance, rural crime cannot be tackled in the same way as urban crime.

They are vastly different and police must be empowered with adequate resources and training to tackle challenges on the ground effectively.

How is crime prioritised and what is the turnover of cases investigated?

Are our police officers buckling under stress, increased pressure and inadequate resources?

Are detectives overburdened with case loads?

Instability within the police leadership has also been labelled as a core problem contributing to the spike in crime stats, some of this reportedly caused by political interference which is rending the police less than effective.

When with repetitive top brass personnel changes, this usually filters down to branches making it difficult for police clusters and stations to function under the ever-changing leadership.

From the Zululand crime stats, we can also take away positives.

There were several police stations in our region that showed significant decreases.

These positive strategies should be used at other police stations where possible so that a crime combatting blueprint can be emulated countrywide.

Every year crime stats are released followed by a barrage of criticism from opposition parties and citizens alike.

But something tangible needs to happen on the ground if we are ever going to see a drop in crime.
Crime stats must translate into corrective action.