Crime statistics point to government inaction in poor communities
THE Cape Times’ article “Crime at a 10-year low” (October 25) has done a disservice to specific communities in the Western Cape disproportionately burdened by an increase in violent crimes.
The headline incorrectly strikes a positive note and stands in contrast to the reality of extreme violent crime reflected in the article itself.
The “10-year low” also obscures the reality that over the same period murder has increased by 16.7% and robbery with aggravating circumstances has increased by 39.6%. Robbery at residential premises, or, put differently people being robbed in their own homes under threat of violence, increased by 221.6% over the past 10 years.
Home robbery is the second most feared crime category for people living in South Africa according to Stats SA’s National Victims of Crime Survey. And, it’s clear from the data that over the past 10 years the likelihood of this fear being realised has increased exponentially.
Additionally, the article fails to address the impact of under-reporting. According to the National Victims of Crime Survey 2016/2017, reporting rates for house robbery fell from 66% to 57% over the past year.
This means that the reported crime “lows” we are seeing are not showing a decrease in violence and crime, but instead reflect a lack of trust in the police to be able to retrieve stolen goods and/or afford victims justice.
The party political angle taken in the article, to draw on the African proverb, simply creates a platform for elephants to fight and for the grass to suffer. The finger pointing from the Western Cape ANC, the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Department of Community Safety is not helpful.
The truth is that in terms of crime detection, investigation and prevention, all three levels of government have failed black African, poor and working-class communities in the Western Cape. These are the communities that carry the greatest burden of extreme violent crime.
MEC Dan Plato is correct in pointing out that “(n)ational government has operational control over SAPS” and “violent crime is highest in areas where the police are most under-resourced”. ANC Western Cape secretary Faiez Jacobs is wrong to say that “putting the blame on national government” should stop. National government is part of the problem.
Over the past four years Nyanga has had a murder rate 23 times higher than Sea Point, yet Nyanga has 4 times fewer police per 100000 people than Sea Point. This is self-evidently unjust, irrational and amounts to discrimination against poor black African communities. Blame for this discrimination lies squarely with national government and specifically with the Minister of Police.
Now, given MEC Plato’s insight into this injustice, afforded by an oversight role, why has the most substantive step towards addressing this issue fallen to community-based, civil society organisations? If the MEC really cared for the well-being of poorer suburbs he would have addressed this discrimination on the basis of race by lodging an inter-governmental dispute and, if necessary, undertaking court action. The Western Cape government has failed to take these necessary steps, to give substance to its oversight role, and as a result the Social Justice Coalition, Equal Edu- cation and the Nyanga Community Police Forum have approached the courts for oversight, accountability and justice.
To his credit Mr Jacobs is right to say that the City of Cape Town has failed to provide enough resources to communities. Mayor De Lille’s spokesperson, Zara Nicholson, is wrong to frame the “City’s track record of service delivery” in a positive light.
Effective public lighting, according to the City of Cape Town’s Design and Management Guidelines for a Safer City, is one of the most effective crime prevention interventions available to government. Despite this acknowledgement the City has reserved high-mast lighting, that the City’s own guidelines advise against, for the poor working-class black communities of Khayelitsha, in its entirety, and large parts of Nyanga, Philippi East, Langa, Bonteheuwel and Bishop Lavis and, tellingly, for Nelson Mandela Boulevard, FW De Klerk Boulevard and parts of Helen Suzman Boulevard.
What densely populated, informal TR Section in Khayelitsha, housing 3 318 households, has in common with elevated dual-carriageway freeways, that would warrant the delivery of the same type of public lighting, is lost on us.
In essence the allocation of the City of Cape Town’s most powerful crime prevention tool mirrors the irrational and discriminatory allocation of police resources by national government.
Unfortunately Mr Jacobs and his elected party-political peers have failed to raise this racially discriminatory allocation of resources in a sustained and impactful way. After launching a public lighting campaign at the beginning of 2017 the SJC was able to force Mayor De Lille to allocate an additional R40 million to improve public lighting in Khayelitsha over the next four years.
This is not nearly enough and our campaign is ongoing.
In building our public lighting campaign we have heard from communities, from police officers and from provincial Emergency Medical Service (EMS) crews that the lack of effective public lighting has impacted on their safety.
If Mbalula really cares about our communities and the people employed by the SAPS, and if the Western Cape government really cares about our communities and about the EMS crews they employ, they would immediately undertake the real work of ensuring that the City of Cape Town delivers effective public lighting to poor, black, working-class communities.
Anything else, more of the same squabbling in newsprint, will amount to sound and fury signifying, and ultimately changing, nothing.
Weyers is the Acting Head of the Safety & Justice Programme at the Social Justice Coalition.