Confidence in cops drops most in Eastern Cape

PUBLIC confidence in police is decreasing in the Eastern Cape, with close to half of the province’s residents not satisfied with the work done by the men and women in blue.

Only 59.8% of households in the Eastern Cape were satisfied with the police in their area, down from 64.7% in 201415. The drop in public confidence was the highest across all provinces.

This is according to the Statistics SA Victims of Crime Survey for 2015-16 findings on the Eastern Cape.

The survey also revealed that 87.7% of households in the province were dissatisfied with the way the police dealt with crime because they did not respond on time.

Households in Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape were more likely to be prevented from going to parks and open spaces for fear of crime.

Among other findings the survey also revealed that:

26.9% of Eastern Cape households were prevented from keeping livestock or poultry due to fear of crime – the highest percentage in the country;

19.9% of households were prevented from investing in or starting a home business due to fear of crime – again, the highest percentage in the country;

The Eastern Cape had the highest percentage (34.3%) of households who said perpetrators committed crimes for non-financial motives.

The province had the highest percentage (90.1%) of households who thought crime was committed because of drug-related needs;

More than 60% of households said housebreaking/burglary was more likely to take place at night.