Citizens are terrified of becoming crime victims
INDIAN households are more likely to experience household crime compared to other population groups, the latest statistics from the Victims of Crime Survey, by Statistics South Africa, has revealed.
The survey also found that the Indian community was the second highest group – 38% – that were satisfied with police response to crime. Whites were the most satisfied at 53% with black Africans and coloureds at 30% each.
Respondents said they had lost trust in the police and were increasingly being prevented from living their lives to the fullest by fear of crime.
According to the report, over half of South Africans failed to report incidents of housebreakings to the police because they did not believe that the police could do anything about it.
One in three respondents said they were prevented from enjoying open spaces due to a fear of falling victim to a crime. This fear also prevents 17% of respondents from allowing their children to play outside, 14% from walking to town or the shops, and 11% from dressing how they want.
South Africans have a lack of faith in the police service’s ability to be there for them in an emergency: only a quarter of respondents now believe that the police will respond to an emergency in less than 30 minutes, while more than 1 in 10 report they don’t believe the police will arrive at all.
“The lack of trust in the police has resulted in citizens becoming prisoners, in terms of living a fulfilled life,” said UKZN associate professor in criminology and forensic studies, Nirmala Gopal.
She said trust in the SAPS had been eroded, partly because it followed the old style of policing, namely “one of control and power rather than the safety and security of its citizens”.
A common factor between the survey and the police crime statistics released last month was that while it showed crime had decreased in some categories, people were aware of the realities of crime and had become increasingly afraid of becoming victims.
Gopal added that for the survey to assist in combating crime, police management needed to take the results seriously and disaggregated a plan of action that prioritised the most to less serious crimes.
The chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Francois Beukman, added: “Regular police patrols, more roadblocks in hotspot areas, efficient sector policing, increased co-operation with community patrols and Community Police Forums, private security companies and neighbourhood watches are key in finding long-term solutions.”
While expressing concern over the drop in the public’s satisfaction with the police, Beukman said filling all vacant posts at stations should be prioritised.
Furthermore, efforts to recruit more police reservists as a force multiplier is more important than ever before, he said, adding that it was essential that high crime spots were prioritised in the allocation of members, relevant equipment and vehicles. The percentage of South Africans who were satisfied with the police response was 54% – a decrease of 5.5% from last year.
The DA’s John Steenhuizen added that South Africans deserved to live in neighbourhoods that are safe, and to trust in a responsive, well-trained, honest police service.
Johan Burger, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), said the statistics showed that the general public was dissatisfied with how the police were performing.
The statistician-general of Stats SA, Risenga Maluleke, said the survey was a rich source of information that would assist in the planning of crime prevention and provide a more holistic picture of crime.
The survey looked at 30 000 private households and examined crime from the point of view of the victims. It focused on people’s perceptions and experiences of crime, and covered 13 household crimes and seven individual crimes. Some SAPS crime categories are not reported by the survey, for instance crime on businesses, drug related crimes and illegal possession of firearms.
Seven out of 10 survey respondents said they perceived housebreakings and burglary to be the most common crimes, at 54%.
SAPS recorded over 220 000 cases in 2017/18, which made it the second most common crime, after other types of theft.
Housebreakings are also the most feared crime in the country, followed by home robbery and robbery outside the home. Individual crime showed that cellphones dominated the list of items lost through theft of personal property at 69%. The survey also revealed that most (65.4%) victims are robbed in the streets of their residential area.