The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron, is of the view that the dire first-quarter (1 April to 30 June 2024) crime statistics point to the need to urgently capacitate the detective and crime intelligence services as a tool to reverse the scourge of crime in South Africa.
Today, the Minister of Police released statistics that revealed a worrying general upward trajectory of crime. The statistics confirm the recently released 2023/24 Governance, Public Safety, and Justice Survey by Statistics South Africa that South Africans are not and do not feel safe.
âOne of the contributing factors to an unsafe country is the inability to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of crime. With enhanced training and capacitation of detectives, crimes will be effectively investigated and perpetrators will be prosecuted,â Cameron said.
The portfolio committee has previously emphasised its belief that South Africa continues to rely heavily on reactive policing due to inadequate intelligence services. âWe will not fight crime effectively with a limping intelligence service that is incapable of gathering information and prevent crimes from happening,â Cameron emphasised.
While the committee welcomed the steps to increase personnel within the ranks of the South African Police Service (SAPS), Mr Cameron cautioned that more boots on the ground without investigative capacity would render the increase in police officers pointless.
For the first quarter of 2024, the released statistics indicate a worrying increase in murders, especially in the Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape.
âThe fact that the top 30 stations with the highest murder cases were in the four provinces, which calls for urgent capacity augmentation in those provinces to investigate and convict perpetrators in those provinces. Furthermore, consideration of devolved powers to local governments will assist the SAPS to investigate those incidents of murder, such as in the City of Cape Town, which recorded 234 gang-related murders for the quarter,â Cameron said.
The fourth quarter also indicated a 3.9% increase in murder and 19.7% increase in attempted murder. Similar to the first-quarter crime statistics, the top 30 stations with high murder rates were in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.
âIt is necessary for these provinces to detail how they will turn around this dire state of affairs as it relates to murder,â Mr Cameron maintained. âIt is patently unacceptable that on average at least three people are murdered per hour in South Africa and three kids are murdered in the country per day. The 1st quarter stats also highlight that there was a 7.9% increase in murder of women, 16% in attempted murder and 6.9% in assault with grievous bodily harm. Effective prosecution of these crimes is essential to enhance deterrence against murder and contact crime,â Cameron emphasised.
The 15% increase in attempted murder and 6% increase in assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm is also worrying. While the chairperson welcomes the 10.5% decrease in sexual assault cases reported, the high number of rape cases reported remains a deep concern, with 9,309 cases reported, an increase of 0.6%. Gender-based violence continues to be a scourge and requires society-centred approaches to reverse, Cameron said.
The chairperson also highlighted concern with the marked increase in contact crimes over the two quarters, with 171,707 crimes reported in the fourth quarter, an increase of 4.6%. SAPS recorded 153,637 contact crimes during the first quarter of this financial year, an increase of 2.6% compared to last year.
Furthermore, it is worrying that the prevalence of illegal firearms on South Africaâs streets continues unabated. The SAPS must heighten strategies to remove illegal firearms from our streets as a means of eliminating illegal firearms, which continue to be the weapon of choice in carrying out crime.
Cameron remains concerned about the continuing murder of members of the SAPS. The crime statistics highlighted that 21 police officers were killed during the quarter.
âWe remain concerned that the people in the service of protecting South Africans are maimed on a daily basis. This is a direct affront to the rule of law and measures are needed to urgently resolve this problem,â said Cameron.
The chairperson also welcomed the Ministerâs commitment to deal with the rise in extortion by deploying specialised units. Nonetheless, the chairperson called for closer collaboration within the justice, crime prevention and security cluster to urgently establish a special court to prosecute perpetrators.
To overturn the scourge of specific crimes, Cameron called for interventions focusing on the capacitation of specialised units to ensure that specific areas of concern are addressed systematically.
The chairperson acknowledged the ministerâs assurance that they are revising strategies to intensify the fight against crime by augmenting strategies such as Operation Shanela. The committee believes it is important to revitalise collaboration with communities to build the trust necessary to enable information-sharing and reporting of crime.
In line with this, the committee has resolved to ensure that adequate funding is appropriated to enable the SAPS to capacitate its ranks better, especially the detectives and intelligence services.
During its meeting on Wednesday, 28 August, the committee resolved to schedule an intensive meeting to interrogate the statistics further and find workable short-, medium- and long-term strategies to defeat the scourge of crime.
- Former Army Reservist Cody Francis Guilty of Conspiring to Steal Government Funds - September 30, 2024
- Alphonse Bazile, Rayshaud Green Jailed 180 Months for Firearms Offences - September 30, 2024
- Gretna Resident Felix Mackey Sentenced to 192 Months in Prison for Methamphetamine, Cocaine Hydrochloride, Cocaine Base Trafficking - September 30, 2024
