Reaction to crime stats and some crucial numbers

Serious and violent crimes have increased for the third consecutive year in a row‚ but the police say violent crime is not theirs to fight alone.

The 2014/15 crime statistics were for the first time released to Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Police on Tuesday.

Contact crimes such as murder and attempted murder saw a total increase of 0.9%.

The murder rate increased by 4.6% - an average of 49 murders a day.

Attempted murders increased by 3.2%‚ while common robbery and aggravated robbery rose by 2.7% and 8.5% respectively.

Sexual offences saw a 5.4% decrease.

Police Minister Nathi Nhleko was at pains to point out that violent crime‚ and in particular murder‚ would not and could not be solved by police alone as it was a societal ill.

The belief that police could single-handedly solve the murder rate in the country was “essentially a hallucination”‚ he said.

Nhleko said that the work done by interest groups and non-governmental organisations around sexual offences‚ and the subsequent drop in those statistics‚ pointed to the role that society had to play in reducing the numbers.

Gareth Newham‚ head of the Institute of Security Studies‚ agreed‚ saying “the police alone can't reduce all forms of crime and violence‚ particularly many murders‚ assaults and rape”.

But he said‚ the increases in other serious and violent crimes such as robberies pointed to a failure on the police's part.

“Armed robberies are a key indicator of police effectiveness because they are typically committed by a relatively small number of repeat offenders who are usually organised‚” he said.

Common robbery increased by 2.7% while aggravated robbery increased by 8.5%. Robberies at residential properties increased by 5‚2%

“That means that where people should feel safe‚ they are being exposed to violent crime. It is also one of the crimes most feared by South Africans‚” the Freedom Front Plus' Pieter Groenewald said.

The biggest increase was in truck hijackings which saw an increase of 29.1%. Car hijackings also took a serious upturn of 14.2%.

Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega said police were forming partnerships in a bid to combat truck hijackings and looking at “new innovations” around bar codes which would allow police to track where goods had come from and where they were destined for before being sold on the second hand or black market.

The Democratic Alliance's Dianne Kohler-Barnard said the increase in the murder rate was “catastrophic”.

“The increase revealed today means that the murder rate is up to 17‚805 which means 49 South Africans are murdered in this country each and every day.

“This number of deaths is what one would expect from a country at war.”

Trade union Solidarity's spokesman Juran van den Heever said the increase in crime could be blamed on lack of leadership in a failing police force.

"That commissioner Phiyega can claim the police have a good story to tell following this tale of woe is completely ridiculous‚" he said.

Police portfolio committee chairman Francois Beukman said the committee was pleased with the reduction in crimes against women and children and in sexual offences.

Phiyega said that there had been a 51% decrease in charges relating to crimes against children‚ with child murders falling by 47% and sexual offences by 52% over the past year.

African National Congress chief whip Stone Sizani welcomed the release of the statistics in Parliament yesterday‚ saying‚ “This is the first time since 1994 that the annual crime statistics are presented before the parliamentary committee‚ which augurs well for the enhanced culture of accountability‚ transparency and openness by state institutions.”

But‚ he said‚ the party was concerned about the increase in contact crime.

“These stubborn forms of crime require concerted multipronged interventions‚ which must include joint efforts by all stakeholders‚ to radically turn the situation around.”

RDM News Wire.