E Cape police pleased with figures
Annual crime stats show second-highest reduction
DESPITE glaring discrepancies in the Eastern Cape crime statistics released on Tuesday, provincial police yesterday gave themselves a pat on the back.
Safety and liaison MEC Weziwe Tikana and police commissioner Lieutenant-General Celiwe Binta had told media representatives gathered at the provincial police headquarters in Zwelitsha that the Eastern Cape was second after Free State for reductions of crime.
“Statistics indicate that during the last financial year police in the province successfully decreased contact crimes (murder, attempted murder, rape and assault-GBH) contact related crimes (arson and malicious damage to property) and all other serious crimes, thus achieving the national targets set for provinces in these crime categories.”
Binta said 172 562 criminal cases were opened in the Eastern Cape between April 2014 and March 2015.
Mount Road police cluster in Port Elizabeth had the highest number, with 29 488. Motherwell, also in Port Elizabeth, recorded the second highest with 14 021. Mthatha was third with 13 541 and the East London cluster fourth with 12 525. Mdantsane accounted for 11 544 cases and King William’s Town 10 904.
The commissioner said police also dealt with about 24 922 incidents of crime for which dockets were opened and investigated.
Binta said there had been a decrease in the overall number of serious crimes in the province such as murder, attempted murder, rape and assault-GBH, which together had decreased by 4.5% compared to the previous financial year. She attributed this to the 2 051 “focused police operations” conducted to “combat high levels of serious crimes”.
“The detection rate increased marginally from 60.5% to 60.9% during the 2014-15 cycle in the province while the conviction rate in relation to murder increased to 10.30%. The conviction in rape cases increased by 8.43%,” Binta said.
Binta lamented 52 gang related murders and 186 attempted murders in the northern areas of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, saying a gang task team had since been set up.
She said police responded to 2 045 service delivery protests around the Eastern Cape, mainly over housing, water and electricity.
“The annual release of the crime statistics gives us the opportunity to review our achievements and progress made during the last financial year. It also gives the communities the opportunity to be informed of how police are dealing with crime.
“This is important because communities also have a role to play in the fight against crime,” said Binta.
The accuracy of the statistics was questioned this week when discrepancies in numbers were found.
In just one example, the latest statistics showed no carjackings in the Eastern Cape in 2013-14 whereas 769 were reported in 2014-15.
But figures released last year showed 775 cases in 2013-14. —