South Africa where:
“Policing is a national government responsibility” translated: the government has a responsibility to protect you) but SHHHHHHHHHH….. don’t tell them that “87 of the Western Cape’s 138 police stations did not have crime prevention units.
“That means that the only thing police do is respond to crimes that have already happened”………..

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Western Province Crime Statistics

REVEALED: SHOCK CAPE CRIME STATS
Saturday Argus 9/10.6.2001

The blanket ban on crime statistics has at last been lifted – to
reveal a
horrifying picture in the Western Cape.
A substantial increase in nearly every manifestation of violent crime
was
revealed in Cape Town yesterday following the Government’s recent
decision
to lift the moratorium on crime figures.

On average, in the last 3 months of this year, there were
9 murders
31 violent robberies
32 cars stolen
every day.

This was the first disclosure of the Western Cape’s crime statistics
since
the national government slapped a moratorium on their release last
year.
The statistics were made public yesterday when Western Cape Police
Commissioner Lennit Max was summond to appear before the provincial
standing
committee on community safety and explain the crime situation. He
painted a
bleak picture, with the poorest communities the hardest hit.

In the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period last
year,
- murder rose by 16,2% (825 cases this year)
- robbery with aggravating circumstances, which includes car
hijackings, up
by a terrifying 36,9 % (2 846 cases)
- theft of motorvehicles up by 14% (2914 cases)
- car break-ins rose by 12,6% (12 145 cases)
- burglary from residential properties was up 6,1% (13 508 cases)
- general robbery up 21,8% (3 559 cases)

Policing is a national government responsibility – the provincial
government
has an ‘oversight’ capacity only. Max was requested to appear before
the
standing committee by Provincial Minister Hennie Bester in this
capacity.
But Bester yesterday said he was not surprised by the figures: “it’s
been my
experience on the ground that we have rising crime levels, and it’s
(now
been) confirmed in the statistics.
We’ve had now a decade of the state sending a message to criminals
that
crime does pay.”
Bester cited bail being granted too often, light sentencing and
prisoners
being granted amnesty as factors that “make criminals brazen and
arrogant,
and we see it every day. And our criminal justice system isn’t
working too
well either.”

Max disclosed, that the Western Cape police had a 47% staff shortage.
Detectives carried caseloads of a mindboggling 519 dockets each.
While
accurate figures were not available for other provinces last night,
the
Westerm Cape’s shortage is the highest by far in the country. Some
provinces
have a surplus.

But most shocking yesterday was Max’s admission, that 87 of the
Western
Cape’s 138 police stations did not have crime prevention units.
“That means that the only thing police do is respond to crimes that
have
already happened,” Bester said. “We call it the 911 treadmill”.That’s
why we
are so passionate about municipal police, bacause crime prevention is
their
main responsibility, visible policing.
“It means that 42% of crimes are not being policed. This creates the
pervading climate of public disorder – prostitution, muggings, etc.
That’s
were municipal police will focus.

Bester said there was an increase in property crimes in particular,
following the trend in Gauteng.
Another area of huge concern was police corruption.
“It could be the biggest poblem weare facing,” Bester said. But he
praised
Max for his ‘frank’ approach. “We need to take the public into our
confidence,” Bester insisted.

Max also gave details of key successes.
These were, notably, the successful fight against urban terror, the
resolution of the violent campaign against Golden Arrow bus company,
and the
anti-poaching operation Neptune.

Max and several of his senior officers prepared an in-depth report on
the
fight against crime. They sbhowed increases in a number of crimes
which are
heavily dependent on police action for detection, such as seizure of
illegal
waepons and drugs. But this reflected increased policing efforts and
should
be seen as improvement, they said.

There were also decreases in the reported number of rapes, stock
theft, and
burglary from businesses. Assault was also down by between 5% and 7%.
Max
gave detailed accounts of dozens of crime operations and the workings
of the
gangland underworld – the province’s main priority.

Most murders took place over weekends, half of them beween 5pm and
just
after midnight on Saturdays.
They explained how a monthly, organised crime threat analysis was
compiled.

Max also provided details of crime hotspots.
For murder, these were Khayalitsha, Nyanga, Mitchell’s Plain, Kuils
River
and Guguletu. For robbery with aggravated circumstances these
included the
city center.
Robbery from bus and taxi ranks was particularly rife and the
hijacking
capitals were Nyanga, Khayalitsha and Guguletu.
The car theft centers were the city, Stellenbosch, Claremont,
Mitchell’s
Plain and Sea Point.
Bester said:” The police Service in the Western Cape faces an
enormous task
against impossible odds, on a daily base, but continues to deliver
successes.”

Saturday Argus 9/10 June 2001