SA twice as deadly as the US

2003-09-01 13:49

Cape Town - Government's claim that South Africa was not a crime capital and compared favourably with the rest of the world is refuted by US crime figures, says official opposition chief whip Douglas Gibson.

In a statement on Monday, Gibson said in 2002 it was reported by The Economist that the US had 16 110 murders but in South Africa in 2001 - the most recent available figures - there were 21 108 murders.

With figures released as a result of DA action taken in terms of access to information legislation, it was found in 2000 that the previous year there had been 21 995 reported cases of murder, of which 10 696 had been referred to court. A total of 4 007 convictions were reported in that year.

Gibson noted that the US population was more than six times that of South Africa.

He said only about one in 10 South African murderers ended up in jail.

Gibson added that in 2001 there were more victims of murder in only four provinces than in the whole of the US in 2002. There were 3 531 murders in the Eastern Cape, 4 821 in Gauteng, 5,275 in KwaZulu Natal and 3,391 in the Western Cape - a total of 17 018.

"Rather than keeping crime statistics from the public until they are almost out of date, and then trying to put a positive spin on them by pretending we are no worse off than the rest of the world, the government should acknowledge the serious situation and deal with it in an appropriate way."

"The criminal justice system must be improved in all areas. Safety and security minister Charles Nqakula's reply to my parliamentary question confirmed the poor record of the criminal justice system in securing murder convictions."

The shortage of police officers and well-trained detectives clearly plays a large part in the shocking performance of the criminal justice system, he said.

Between January 2000 and March 2002, there were almost 48 000 murders in South Africa. In the same period, approximately 27 000 murders were referred to court, of which only 4 760 ended with convictions.

"Over-worked and over-stressed cops are not receiving the necessary support from government. Detectives' caseloads are too heavy to conduct each investigation with the thoroughness needed to identify the suspect and gather sufficient evidence to ensure a successful prosecution."

- I-Net Bridge (Business)