A shocking 3% of house-breakings end in convictions

31 May 2017

The fact that a mere 3% of house breakings result in convictions is a shocking indictment on both the South African Police Services (SAPS) and the Justice system and is a clear indication of a failure to ensure that those responsible for these crimes are first arrested and then convicted for their crimes.

The Victims of Crime Survey, focusing on house-breaking and robbery, released today by Statistics South Africa, details that:

- Out of all housebreaking/burglaries reported to police, an arrest was made in only 19% of cases – meaning that the SAPS failed to make any arrest in 81% of cases reported; and

- The conviction rate for housebreakings/burglaries was only 14.3%.

This means that out of all house-breaking or burglaries reported, just 3% resulted in a conviction.

The SAPS are responsible for making South Africa safer, yet if arrests are made in only 19% of all cases, there is a serious problem which must be addressed urgently if South Africans are to ever feel safe in their homes. An 81% failure rate, in addressing hose-breakings, is a truly dire indictment on Minister Mbalula’s Department.

I will, therefore, submit parliamentary questions to get to the bottom of the reasons for the shockingly low number of arrests. Parliament deserves answers on what the Department of Police is doing to improve the SAPS performance on house-breakings.

South Africans deserve to feel safe yet the SAPS is blatantly failing at their mandate.

Issued by Zakhele Mbhele, DA Shadow Minister of Police, 31 May 2017