ANC chief whip Motshekga welcomes crime stats

ANC chief whip Mathole Motshekga welcomed the 2011/12 crime statistics released by Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa.

"The statistics, which reflect a significant decline in various serious crimes, clearly demonstrates that the ANC government's crime-fighting efforts continue to bear fruit," he said in a statement.

The continuous year-on-year decline in serious crimes, such as murder, cash-in-transit heists, car hijackings, and bank robberies, showed the crime-fighting achievements recorded during the 2010 Soccer World Cup were intensifying, he said.

"We are confident that government will indeed continue to deepen its progressive crime-fighting strategies in this regard, to ensure that South Africans are not only safe, but also feel safe."

Motshekga agreed with Mthethwa that slow declines or increases in other forms of crimes, such as drunken driving, and business and house robberies, would require a review in crime-fighting strategies in those specific areas.

Society had a huge role to play in partnering police to eradicate crime, as some of these criminals lived among communities, he said.

Purchasing stolen goods, which in some instances were taken from murdered victims, expanded the market for illicit goods and undermined crime-fighting efforts.

"We congratulate the brave men and women in blue, under the able leadership of Minister Mthethwa, [national commissioner] Riah Phiyega, and their teams, for their continued efforts to build safer and more secure communities," he said.