The release of the 2019/2020 Crime Stats this morning by Police Minister, Bheki Cele, is alarming, unsettling and deeply problematic for numerous reasons.
At the outset, the increase in crimes and violence perpetrated against women and children is shocking, considering that many promises were made by the SAPS in this regard. This includes ensuring that police stations are equipped and that SAPS officers are trained to deal with cases of rape, sexual assault and grievous bodily harm.
The rise in the number of errors in capturing stats for rape, assault and violence against women and children and protection orders issued simply do not add up. These stats are not yet audited and verified with physical case dockets.
While we support the quarterly release of the Crime Stats, we cannot support the release of reports that are incomplete, unaudited and rushed.
The IFP believes that before we can even think of developing smart cities for fighting crime, we need to ensure that the fundamental infrastructure, personnel and technological systems are in place at police stations as part of the SAPS modernisation programme.
It is unfortunate that South Africans continue to feel unsafe in their homes, on the streets, and in their towns, cities and provinces.
We cannot boost investor confidence, grow the economy and change the lives of the unemployed young people in our country when we continually live in fear of crime.
We urge Minister Cele and the entire SAPS leadership to ensure that turnaround times for the capturing of statistics match those for placing those who commit crime behind bars.
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Contact:
Zandile Majozi, MP
IFP Spokesperson on Police
073 052 9556