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Parties demand frequent stats
27/09/2006 18:43 - (SA)
Cape Town - Wednesday's eventual release of the annual crime statistics - for the period April 1 2005 to March 31 2006 - has raised strident calls for the figures to be made public more regularly.
Democratic Alliance spokesperson Dianne Kohler-Barnard said the government's continued refusal to publish crime statistics on a more-regular basis meant the public had to wait another year before finding out just how serious was the present crime spike affecting the country.
"The minister (of safety and security Charles Nqakula) already has statistics for the period April 1 - August 31 2006 and there is no reason why he cannot release this information tomorrow," she said.
The Inkatha Freedom Party's Koos van der Merwe agreed, saying quarterly crime statistics should be released so that police could react swiftly to trends in various areas and communities could be more vigilant.
Cops 'losing the battle'
Kohler-Barnard said that it was clear from the available statistics the government was nowhere near achieving its own target of bringing down serious contact crimes by between 7% and 10% a year.
"Instead, the increases in cash-in-transit heists (74.1%) and car hijackings (3.1%) suggest the police are losing the battle against heavily armed and well-organised crime syndicates.
"Rather than providing solace, the latest stats should be a major cause for concern to all South Africans, particularly as the country prepares to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup," she said.
That murder fell by a nominal 2%, rape by 1% and indecent assault by 3.8%, hardly provided much comfort for the South African public.
"These crime statistics are out of date by at least six months, which means that they, in no way, take into account the massive spike in crime since March this year."
Insurance and tracking companies indicated earlier this month that car hijackings had increased from 12 434 in 2004/'05 to more than 15 864 so far this year -- exceeding highs last recorded in 2001/'02.
"Hollard Insurance recorded a 30% to 40% increase in car hijackings between March and June compared to last year, and increases of between 20% and 30% for July and August."
Kohler-Barnard said another cause for concern was that crimes, such as rape and indecent assault, were considerably under-reported.
Van der Merwe said the statistics were cause for great concern, especially the increased cash-in-transit heists and car hijackings.
"Crime is one of the key problems affecting all South Africans and it also has been blamed in a recent report for almost a fifth of white South Africans emigrating in the past 10 years.
'A right to life free of fear'
"Shocking crimes, such as aggravated robbery, hijackings, rape and murder are crippling South Africans from all walks of life and are still at an unacceptably high level," he said.
"Although the figures released today show a slight decrease in murder, rape, indecent assaults and burglary, the IFP feels disappointed that still not enough is being done to give South Africans a right to live life free of fear," said Van der Merwe.
- SAPA
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