Stats ‘compromised’ – DA

AN INDEPENDENT audit of the crime statistics, higher convictions rate, specialised units fighting crime and effective leadership within the police are just some of the calls being made by the Democratic Alliance to fight crime.

Speaking at a press conference earlier this week in light of the crime statistics being released, DA spokeswoman for police, Dianne Kohler Barnard, believes that crime statistics have been “woefully compromised” and that the national government should make the necessary interventions to win the war on crime.

Among the concerns raised by Barnard was the claim that the ANC government was using the crime statistics as a measure of SAPS performance.

“The system of incentivising a decrease in crime rates often serves to incentivise underreporting by the police,” she said. “This is counter-intuitive. The focus on statistics as a measure of performance means that solutions are sought in the wrong places.

“Statistics should be viewed as a tool for quality intervention in the form of targeted resource allocations and SAPS strategies. For instance, instead of simply saying murder has increased, we need to look at the reasons for this and then target interventions such as specialised crime units to address the issue.”

Barnard found that crime statistics were already six months out of date and did not reflect current crime patterns or trends.

“The DA has therefore proposed that South Africa requires real-time crime statistics to be publically available at every SAPS station so that tailored and localised responses to crime can be formulated and implemented timeously. “

Another concern for the DA was the accuracy and reliability of the statistics, and she called for an independent audit.

“Aside from under-reporting or the failure of SAPS officers to actually process reported cases due to performance targets, the statistics are open to manipulation as they are not independently audited.

“This problem became clear two years ago when it was discovered that the SAPS had used incorrect population figures to calculate the various crime ratios, which led to an understating of increases in various categories. Then last year the SAPS announced statistics which were materially incorrect for both Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal.”

Kohler Barnard added that it was noted by detectives that while they were rewarded for the numbers of arrests and convictions obtained, members of the National Prosecuting Authority were rated on a decrease in prosecutions.

“Due to the overload, only 29% of cases are concluded. This lowers conviction rates, which has dire consequences for the effective fight against crime … Conviction rates must be the focus for the future.”

KZN Community Safety MEC Willies Mchunu had not responded to requests for comment by time of publication.