Crime Stats 2016: The stuff nightmares are made of
2 September 2016
The slight overall reduction in crime notwithstanding, the DA is alarmed by significant increases in crimes that South Africans fear the most. Violent crime remains unacceptably high, having a direct impact on how unsafe South Africans feel.
Crimes such as sexual assault, murder, attempted murder, aggravated robbery and hi-jacking are the crimes that keep South Africans in constant fear and awake at night. These are the crimes nightmares are made of.
It is thus deeply troubling that most of these crimes have increased according to the crime statistic released today:
- Murder, which has increased by 4.9% with 51 murders occurring every day, up from 48 in the previous year;
- Attempted murder which has increased by 3.4%, with 49 cases reported every day;
- Aggravated robbery which increased by 2.7% with 363 incidences every day;
- Robbery at residential premises which also increased by 2.7%, with 57 houses broken into every day; and
- Car hijackings increased by 14.3%, with 40 hijackings taking place every day.
The crime statistics, represented as numbers and proportions, hide the true human cost of crime and the impact that this has on the well-being of South Africans. The statistics released today are an account of how thousands of South Africans become victims of crime every day.
The increase in key crimes shows that South Africa remains under siege from criminals. We are losing the fight against crime yet the SAPS are hobbled by the ‘four U’s’ and are chronically under-resourced, under-trained, under-equipped under-staffed. This impacts directly on the SAPS’s ability to make meaningful inroads in reducing crime.
The national government has exclusive operational control and authority over the SAPS and is responsible for keeping South Africans safe yet all South Africans live in fear. We live in fear that we or our families may become victims or that we will be re-victimised.
We need strong and immediate action.
The latest stats shows that more needs to be done to fight crime. We do not have to accept the high levels of crime. We can turn the tide against crime. This requires the political will and leadership to ensure that resources currently allocated are to put the most efficient and effective use to bring down the already unacceptably high levels of crime in our country.
Issued by Zakhele Mbhele, DA Shadow Minister of Police, 2 September 2016
