The murder rate has started to decrease significantly (down 11.5%) and there are double-digit reductions in most forms of aggravated robbery, says acting police minister Firoz Cachalia.
Gender-based violence (GBV) and sexual offences, however, remain stubbornly high.
Commercial crime continues to record increases, a trend spanning five years, and much of this is now taking place online.
“With the support of the Joint Initiative against Crime and Corruption, as part of the partnership with the private sector, we will strengthen our digital capacity to fight this,“ Cachalia told a briefing on the crime statistics for April to September, the first two quarters of the SAPS financial year.
Cachalia highlighted the need to combat the proliferation of drugs in South Africa.
“Many people turn to crime where there is a lack of opportunity, excessive alcohol consumption and exposure to dangerous drugs sold by gangs who recruit our youth into a life of crime.
“Combatting gang violence requires effective, no-compromise policing, effective investigation and prosecution. We must ensure the ganglords pay for the harm they do to our society and the future of our country.”
He identified organised crime as a direct threat to people’s safety, to economic growth and to national security.
“Criminal networks fuel violence, entrench corruption and weaken institutions. Organised crime undermines investment and prevents job creation. Drugs devastate communities and the future prospects of our young people. Extortion, kidnappings, vehicle hijackings, gang violence and cash-in-transit heists have an immediate, terrifying effect on victims and small businesses.”
Highlighting the importance of the work being done by the Madlanga commission and parliament’s ad hoc committee on alleged corruption in the criminal justice system, he said these would help establish a public record and a consensus on a way forward.
“Criminal networks infiltrate political parties, government departments and procurement systems to steal public funds. These criminals wear fancy suits and designer clothes, pretending they are legitimate business people.
“We have seen the damage state capture did to our country and its institutions, and we now know that capture continues in different forms. These crimes do not show up in the street-level statistics we release today [Friday], but they bleed our country dry.”
Cachalia advocated for focused, specialist capability based on closer collaboration between the police, prosecutors, financial regulators, the SA Revenue Service and the private sector.
“We must follow the money and hit the criminals where it hurts, in their pockets. We need fast, effective prosecutions and strong witness protection to turn investigations into convictions.”
On gang violence in the Western Cape, Gauteng, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, he said he would ensure a monthly evaluation of the police’s strategy to counter it.
“While we do not yet see the progress that is necessary, there is some evidence that we are beginning to make progress.”
To deal with the underlying reasons for the high crime rate, he called for a “whole of government” and “whole of society” approach.
This should include creating safe public spaces through better urban design:
- lighting, safe parks and clean streets;
- combating substance abuse;
- rehabilitation of offenders to stop the revolving door of prisons;
- reducing crimes against women and children through social interventions; and
- improved co-ordination and data accountability.
Expanding on GBV, Cachalia said there have been various policy initiatives over the past 30 years, “but the results are disappointing because this is a deeply rooted societal problem. Policing is not the only answer.”
He has commissioned deputy police minister Polly Boshielo to lead efforts to understand where the implementation failures are. Without elaborating, he said: “An additional amount of R40m was allocated last week towards victim empowerment.”
TimesLIVE
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