28 September 2009 15:30
Crime: You’re safer in the UK
Official statistics released in South Africa last week showed an overall increase in the crime rate. Against these figures, British statistics lose much of their shock value. But what do the numbers really mean, and how will South Africa deal with the issues behind the police report? [email protected]
When official crime figures were released in the UK a few weeks ago, the British press proclaimed England the most violent country in Europe. More than that, it was – according to press spin on these figures – worse than South Africa when it came to the rate of crimes per 100 000 residents.
But while this made for shocking headline fodder, it simply didn’t ring true. Criminologists were quick to point out that crime figures can be affected by many factors, including differences in criminal justice systems and differences in how crime is reported and measured.
So although the UK ranked above South Africa for all violent crime, up to 18 000 South Africans are murdered each year, compared to Britain’s 921 murders in 2007.
Anyone still convinced that the UK has more serious crime problem than South Africa need only take a look at the official crime figures released in South Africa last week – although caution in interpreting these figures is again judicious, given the circumstances of their release.
Because just one set of statistics, covering the financial year until the end of March, was revealed in the annual police report this month, up-to-date and accurate assessments of if and how crime is increasing have been rendered impossible. By the time the information was officially disclosed, it was already almost six months old. Previously, two sets of statistics were released each year.
The 2008/2009 numbers made public by Minister of Police Nkosinathi Mthethwa on September 22 show the overall crime rate increased by 0.3 percent after steady decreases in the preceding four years.
The overall murder rate has continued on its downward trend, with a fairly significant 34 percent decrease this year and a general decline since 1994. But other categories of crime show marked increases. Sexual offences climbed by 10.1 percent, house robberies by 27.3 percent, and vehicle and truck hijackings by 5 percent and 15.4 percent respectively. Business robberies are up by a massive 41.5 percent and commercial crime is also up by 18.7 percent.
Mthethwa expressed particular concern at the 27 percent increase in house robberies.
"It is one of the crimes that are the most intrusive and personalised," he said.
"We simply cannot tolerate a situation where people do not feel safe in their homes."
House robberies affected people from all walks of life, and were not restricted to wealthy areas.
The police recognised that they needed to do more, Mthethwa said, and had begun an audit of how they deployed their human and material resources, and the timing of that deployment.
Opposition parties wasted little time responding to Mthethwa’s briefing. Democratic Alliance (DA) spokeswoman Dianne Kohler Barnard said it was now clear why Mthethwa had reneged on his predecessor's pledge to release crime statistics twice annually.
"Clearly these are numbers that the African National Congress (ANC) would not have risked releasing publicly in the run up to a national election," she said.
Independent Democrats (ID) spokesman Joe Mcgluwa said that while the ID welcomed the 3.4 percent decrease in murder and the decrease in five of the seven contact crime categories, there were still "frightening" increases in other forms of violent crime.
"Until we deal convincingly with the massive inequalities and the crisis within the social fabric of our society, crime will remain a huge problem," Mcgluwa said.
Police spokesman for the Freedom Front Plus (FF+), Pieter Groenewald, said the latest figures meant robberies at residential properties had in the past three years increased by 54.2 percent.
"This type of crime is threatening the lives of the public and they are not safe in their own homes," he said.
Chief whip of the United Democratic Movement (UDM) Stanley Ntapane said that no matter how government spun the statistics, it was undeniable that South Africa suffered from a shockingly high rate of crime.
"There are war zones with lower rates of killing," he said of the average of 50 murders a day in the country – more than eight times higher than the world average.
"For more than a decade the ANC government has systematically failed to address this horrific situation."
Crime: You’re safer in the UK
28 September 2009 15:30
Crime: You’re safer in the UK
Official statistics released in South Africa last week showed an overall increase in the crime rate. Against these figures, British statistics lose much of their shock value. But what do the numbers really mean, and how will South Africa deal with the issues behind the police report?
[email protected]
When official crime figures were released in the UK a few weeks ago, the British press proclaimed England the most violent country in Europe. More than that, it was – according to press spin on these figures – worse than South Africa when it came to the rate of crimes per 100 000 residents.
But while this made for shocking headline fodder, it simply didn’t ring true. Criminologists were quick to point out that crime figures can be affected by many factors, including differences in criminal justice systems and differences in how crime is reported and measured.
So although the UK ranked above South Africa for all violent crime, up to 18 000 South Africans are murdered each year, compared to Britain’s 921 murders in 2007.
Anyone still convinced that the UK has more serious crime problem than South Africa need only take a look at the official crime figures released in South Africa last week – although caution in interpreting these figures is again judicious, given the circumstances of their release.
Because just one set of statistics, covering the financial year until the end of March, was revealed in the annual police report this month, up-to-date and accurate assessments of if and how crime is increasing have been rendered impossible. By the time the information was officially disclosed, it was already almost six months old. Previously, two sets of statistics were released each year.
The 2008/2009 numbers made public by Minister of Police Nkosinathi Mthethwa on September 22 show the overall crime rate increased by 0.3 percent after steady decreases in the preceding four years.
The overall murder rate has continued on its downward trend, with a fairly significant 34 percent decrease this year and a general decline since 1994. But other categories of crime show marked increases. Sexual offences climbed by 10.1 percent, house robberies by 27.3 percent, and vehicle and truck hijackings by 5 percent and 15.4 percent respectively. Business robberies are up by a massive 41.5 percent and commercial crime is also up by 18.7 percent.
Mthethwa expressed particular concern at the 27 percent increase in house robberies.
"It is one of the crimes that are the most intrusive and personalised," he said.
"We simply cannot tolerate a situation where people do not feel safe in their homes."
House robberies affected people from all walks of life, and were not restricted to wealthy areas.
The police recognised that they needed to do more, Mthethwa said, and had begun an audit of how they deployed their human and material resources, and the timing of that deployment.
Opposition parties wasted little time responding to Mthethwa’s briefing. Democratic Alliance (DA) spokeswoman Dianne Kohler Barnard said it was now clear why Mthethwa had reneged on his predecessor's pledge to release crime statistics twice annually.
"Clearly these are numbers that the African National Congress (ANC) would not have risked releasing publicly in the run up to a national election," she said.
Independent Democrats (ID) spokesman Joe Mcgluwa said that while the ID welcomed the 3.4 percent decrease in murder and the decrease in five of the seven contact crime categories, there were still "frightening" increases in other forms of violent crime.
"Until we deal convincingly with the massive inequalities and the crisis within the social fabric of our society, crime will remain a huge problem," Mcgluwa said.
Police spokesman for the Freedom Front Plus (FF+), Pieter Groenewald, said the latest figures meant robberies at residential properties had in the past three years increased by 54.2 percent.
"This type of crime is threatening the lives of the public and they are not safe in their own homes," he said.
Chief whip of the United Democratic Movement (UDM) Stanley Ntapane said that no matter how government spun the statistics, it was undeniable that South Africa suffered from a shockingly high rate of crime.
"There are war zones with lower rates of killing," he said of the average of 50 murders a day in the country – more than eight times higher than the world average.
"For more than a decade the ANC government has systematically failed to address this horrific situation."