Crime stats shame all
THE LATEST crime statistics released yesterday spoke volumes of how we have regressed as a country. It is not only disheartening, but also scandalous that year after year South Africans get told the same story.
Crime will remain one of South Africa’s biggest problems for as long as we are saddled with the absence of strong and proper leadership. It will remain so for as long as ordinary citizens sit with arms folded and don’t contribute towards tackling crime.
Yes, it is true that the SA Police Service can’t solve crime on its own and needs the support and assistance of the community. But before this can happen, the police service should eradicate all the corrupt officers in its ranks. These elements give the police a bad name. Rooting out these corrupt officers must be a priority.
Police Minister Fikile Mbalula has vowed to deal with this problem. So did his predecessors.
WHAT is needed is for the minister as well as his generals in the police to talk less and do more. People will have more faith and trust in the SAPS once the bad apples are removed and a professional approach is adopted in the way police services are offered. It boggles the mind why some officers think they are doing people a favour. It is the taxpayer who pays their salaries.
South Africans have a right to be protected but, as reported in this paper today, the Institute of Security Studies rightly attributes the steady increase in crimes such as murder to the police’s inability to get a grip on serious violent crimes. This despite the SAPS budget having increased by nearly 50% since 2011/12 to a massive R87 billion.
The ISS recognises the efforts of countless honest and competent police officers, many of whom are ready to defend us with their lives, but rightly points out that the failure to appoint an experienced person of integrity as police national commissioner is the root cause of the crisis.
Unless this problem gets addressed, South Africans should not expect next year’s crime statistics to be any better.