A CRIME stat is only a crime stat once it has been reported to SAPS, says a local security company.
Ivan Govender, district manager (KwaZulu-Natal) for Fidelity ADT, said it appears that there are a large number of crimes that simply go unreported because of the nature of the crime or because of a lack of confidence in the system.
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He said selective reporting of crime is problematic as it contributes to the dissemination of misinformation around crime, rather than accurate and contextualised information which the SAPS and private security companies can then work on to apprehend suspects.
“No matter how big or small or how insignificant you feel the crime is – report it,” said Govender.
Govender said there are seven key reasons to report crime, including the fact it helps with establishing crime trends and provides authorities with invaluable information on how to best allocate resources.
“Reporting crime helps in understanding both motive and modus of the crime and how crime prevention strategies are being deployed. It may alter decisions homeowners make about their personal safety, and can influence how homeowners live day to day,” he said.
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Reporting crime also helps the community to better understand and respond to safety issues and it can lead to more arrests as your crime could be a critical link to another similar crime and could result in an arrest.
“A community approach to fighting crime is essential and always pays dividends leading to safer communities.”
“It starts off with a commitment from residents to report crimes accurately and to become involved in neighbourhood and community watch projects,” said Govender.
He said it also requires a follow up commitment from SAPS and other role players in the sector such as private security companies to proactively follow up on all leads, trends and incidents to reduce crime levels.
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