Political parties, unions and civil organisations say there is a need to address the declining confidence in the country’s criminal justice system and the police’s ability to maintain law and order.
Releasing the crime statistics for the first quarter of the 2023/24 financial year on Friday, Police Minister Bheki Cele said while there are still unacceptably high crime levels, police are pushing back on crime, especially violent crime, which is starting to show some decreases.
Cele said for the first time since Covid-19 reached South Africa in 2020, the murder rate of the country has declined in a single quarter.
“Between April and June this year, police recorded 6 228 counts of murders. This is 196 fewer people killed compared to the same time last year. Out of the 6 228 people killed during April to June, 1 188 were women and children,” said Cele.
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) said it has noted the latest quarterly crime statistics.
The union said while noting the recorded reductions in some crime categories, including the murder rate by 3.1% and sexual offences by 2.1%, there has been an increase of 7% in the attempted murder category.
“Most concerning is that the most reported cases of murder come from both KwaZulu-Natal’s Inanda and Umlazi police stations, while the other province with such high figures remains the Western Cape through the Delft, Gugulethu and Harare police stations,” said Popcru spokesperson Richard Mamabolo..
He said comparatively observing, these minimal reductions should be a concern to the SAPS since ideally, crime statistics are supposed to serve as a tool with which to provide law enforcement agencies with data for use of determining budgetary formulations, planning and the allocation of resources and police operations.
“The above points to the capacity of the SAPS, and puts to question the extent within which resources are channelled to stations in ensuring they are able to service communities.
“These unabated patterns are but a reflection of the deep-rooted capacity challenges faced by our police officers across different communities. Despite being aware of the crime conditions, they are limited by the availability of resources to make any real interventions,” Mamabolo said.
Inanda in KwaZulu-Natal is one such case, he said, where there is only one police station servicing a population of just more than 158 619 people, therefore making it difficult for law enforcement officers to be consistently available to address such crime challenges.
“These incapacities include the uneven allocation of resources, poor working conditions and the shortages of ammunition and training, among others,” he said.
Mamabolo said it is always vital when reflecting on the rising crime statistics, that they not only blame it on police, but take a broad approach that considers the broader socio-economic conditions faced by the populace, including the implications thereof. These lead to the conditions law enforcement officers have to contend with, hence their call for an upcoming Policing Indaba to be held in the next week is aimed at addressing the escalating levels of violent crimes, abuse of women and children, drug trafficking, violent protests, and the continued unabated police killings that have in recent times become prevalent across communities, among other issues.
He said it is premised on the intensification and expansion of work that should be undertaken with various sectors of society, business and communities to prevent and combat crime. It requires the mobilisation of broader responsibility and a more proactive approach to crime prevention.
“We further call for the criminal justice cluster to address its fragmented structures. It is currently operating in silos, with different departments operating differently while relying on each other’s inputs in conducting their mandated functions.
“There is a need to establish synergy between the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), the SAPS and the judiciary, with the SAPS accounting for the arrests made, the judiciary accounting for the number of convictions and prosecutions, while the Department of Correctional Services accounts for the number of incarcerations.
“This will assist in determining consolidated future budgets that should bring about a correlated approach within the CJC instead of the current continued situation wherein every department works blindly, and in isolation of one another,” Mamabolo.
AfriForum said the SAPS has been crippled by political interference, corruption, a lack of training and a lack of accountability for far too long.
It is clear that this situation cannot be remedied at national level, as this would be akin to asking the wolf to watch the sheep, it said.
The GOOD party said the latest set of crime statistics continues to paint a bleak picture of South Africa.
“Cele and Minister of Justice, Ronald Lamola, need to address the declining confidence in the country’s criminal justice system and the police’s ability to maintain law and order.
“This will only be achieved when there is a dignified experience in reporting crime or reaching out for help; when you get more than a case number that never leads to any action; when the NPA prosecutes and gets convictions,” said Brett Herron, GOOD: secretary-general and Member of Parliament.