According to Fidelity ADT, a large number of crimes are unreported in South Africa, which means that crime statistics can’t be completely accurate.
This ultimately means that the crime rate in South Africa is higher than reported. “The papers and social channels are full of reports of ATM fraud, cell phones being snatched while people are waiting for [taxis] and other opportunistic crimes, yet only a small percentage of these crimes are actually reported,” said national marketing and communications manager at Fidelity ADT, Charnel Hattingh.
“A large number of crimes simply go unreported because of the nature of the crime or because of a lack of confidence in the system.”
Hattingh added that selective reporting of crime is problematic as it contributes to the dissemination of misinformation around crime, rather than accurate and contextualised information which the police and private security companies can then work on to apprehend suspects.
Fidelty ADT has provided the following reasons on why it is important to report a crime:
- It helps with establishing crime trends and provides authorities with invaluable information on how to best allocate resources.
- If a car’s registration number is reported, the SAPS can immediately start tracking the vehicle and carry out stop-and-search intercepts.
- It helps in understanding both motive and modus of the crime and how crime prevention strategies are being deployed
- It ensures suspects can be sent to jail once they have been finally apprehended – without a complainant and case number, there is no case
- It helps the community to better understand and respond to safety issues
- 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 a follow-up commitment from SAPS and other influencers in the sector,” she concluded.
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