The latest crime statistics released by Police Minister Bheki Cele point to a dramatic increase in several categories, most notably in contact crimes, said private security company, Fidelity ADT.
The minister released the statistics for the first quarter of 2021/ 2022 on August 20.
Head of Marketing and Communications for Fidelity Services Group, Charnel Hattingh said contact crimes such as murder, attempted murder, sexual offences and all categories of assault registered a 60,6% increase, compared to the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
Minister Cele said that the police also reported an increase of 72.4% in incidents of rape – translating to 10 006 victims of rape during the period between April 1 and June 30.
Both common assault and assault with grievous bodily harm registered double-digit increases, translating to a combined 76 936 cases. Over 15 000 cases of domestic violence were reported over the period alone. Carjacking also increased.
An important first step in addressing these crime levels is to make sure that each and every incident is reported to the police. Simply because an incident of a mugging or car theft is reported on a community WhatsApp group does not make it a reported crime,” said Hattingh.
“Yes, social media platforms are valuable for many reasons. For example, if an incident occurs and is posted it helps to quickly mobilise resources to search for the perpetrators or offer emergency help, and it makes the community aware,” she added.
“Victims must not leave things there though. It is vital they report the incident to the police so that it can be logged as a crime stat.”
Crime statistics help the police strategise and allocate the appropriate resources to suburbs, in conjunction with private security companies and other stakeholders, to protect lives by better managing crime, curbing trends and equipping the justice system.
The importance of this is hampered by people thinking the crime was petty and not worth reporting. Some people also say they have no faith in the justice system so what is the point?
Petty criminals very often become serious offenders somewhere down the line – perhaps years after getting away with bag snatching or shoplifting which nobody bothered to report.
This is the point of reporting crime. We don’t view any crime or criminal as petty and the public should not either. Crime needs to be reported so that criminals can be apprehended and dealt with in the justice system, or we run the risk of them progressing to more serious crimes before they are caught.
“Remember too that criminals associate with criminals. The arrest of a bag snatcher in your street could lead to a much bigger fish for the police or be linked to other crimes which have plagued the suburb.”
But have South Africans become too desensitised to bother?
Hattingh said it is an unfortunate reality that many people feel lucky to be alive and just want to move on after they have fallen victim to a criminals. Trauma is also often a reason victims prefer not to go to the police; they do not want to relive the events by giving a statement.
“We appreciate this and see it on a daily basis in our line of work, but we still encourage people to report crime and explain the importance of this to them. Private security companies like us have resources in place to assist clients who are victims of crime with trauma support and through the process of reporting the crime to the police, so that it can be logged as an official crime statistic.”
Unreported crimes have no value to the police or broader society, she added.
No crime is too small to be reported and every one of us can play a role in curbing crime in this country by reporting crime. The only value a crime has is that when it is reported it becomes intelligence for police and other security resources to use to fight criminals and get them off our streets.”
Sources:
• https://www.gov.za/speeches/minister-bheki-cele-quarter-one-crime-statistics-20212022-20-aug-2021-0000
• https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/514680/shock-crime-statistics-for-south-africa-including-big-increase-in-murder-and-hijacking/
