Crime Stats: KZN is South Africa’s ‘murder capital’ yet again
2 September 2016
The release of the national crime statistics earlier today confirmed what many already know – that KZN is an increasingly unsafe province to live in, so much so that the province earned the dreadful title of the country’s “murder capital” for the third year running.
The stats reflect the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016 and show that:
- Murder rose by 3.1% (from 3 810 in 2014/15 to 3 929 in 2015/2016)
- Attempted murder also rose by 3.1% (from 3 918 in 2014/15 to 4 041 in 2015/16)
- Robbery with aggravating circumstances climbed 0.9% (from 20 881 in 2014/15 to 21 061 in 2015/16)
- Residential robbery increased by 3.1% (from 3 958 in 2014/15 to 4 082 in 2015/16)
- Robbery at non-residential premises increased by 5.7% (from 11 032 in 2014/15 to 11 656 in 2015/16)
- Burglary at non-residential premises saw an increase of 5.7% over the previous year
- Drug-related crime went down 2.2% (from 47 377 to 46 354)
The DA is deeply disturbed by the general upsurge in figures, which reflects the ongoing failure by a historically poor and politically appointed leadership to deal with the issues plaguing KZN police stations.
This failure is attributable to the shoddy state of the police service at station level, best characterised by the “four U’s”, being under-resourced, under-trained, under-equipped and under-staffed.
But it is out in our communities where the true suffering and devastation lies, as the “four U’s” translate into:
- Police unable to attend to crime scenes due to a lack of transport or manpower
- Police not collecting evidence the community tells them about
- Never hearing from a detective who takes your statement after a loved one has been murdered;
- The rape case that could not be opened due to shoddy policing
- Not being told that your attacker has been released on bail or parole
These are the “human” issues that the DA in KZN will not accept and which we will continue to demand answers to.
They include the many dedicated officers whose morale is at an all-time low due to their often shocking working conditions. Tragic police killings and attacks on officers merely add to their stress.
KZN’s people need a firm commitment from KZN’s ANC-led leadership that they will not stop until practical solutions are found to resolve the issues plaguing the SAPS in our province.
The DA’s vision for a professional and effective police service is rooted in competent police leadership and management with the right priorities who enforce strong accountability.
It is critical that new legislation is introduced. To this end, we submitted a Community Safety Bill in June 2013 – aimed at making KZN a safer province in which to live.
This Bill is already in use in the DA-led Western Cape where it has proved effective in the fight against crime. It allows laws which will make police more accountable to the safety needs of communities.
Due to a lack of political will the Bill it was not adopted during the previous term and the DA was forced to resubmit it to the KZN Office of the Speaker earlier this year. T
To date there has been no response from the Legislature. Despite this apparent lack of interest, we are yet to see the ANC-led leadership come up with alternative plan.
The DA will demand answers from the Speaker for what we regard as the ongoing and deliberate and ongoing blocking of this Bill.
In terms of KZN’s newly appointed Community Safety MEC, Xolisi Kaunda, we hope it will be a case of a ‘new broom sweeping clean’ and that he will support us in getting this important Bill tabled.
The DA is committed to fighting for the rights of KZN’s people who deserve to live, work, go to school and grab opportunities without the constant fear of crime.
Issued by Rishigen Viranna, DA KZN Spokesperson on Community Safety and Liaison, 2 September 2016
