Last Tuesday the Minister of Police, Fikile Mbalula, released the latest crime stats which once again indicate that South Africa is indeed notorious for being the murder capital of the world.
Mbalula said, "According to the crime statistics, which cover 21 crime categories, 17 crime categories are reported by the public, while four others are as a result of police activity. In effect, the 17 categories should
ideally decrease, and the four categories should increase to show effective policing, but that did not happen."
As many as 2,129,001 serious crimes were recorded in the last 12 month period, and a shocking 18 919 murders were recorded.
Robberies at residential premises increased to 22 227 cases, with rape cases recording a staggering 39 633.
According to Mbalula, while the number of crimes detected as a result of police action, reversed from a decline of 0.3% in 2015/16 to an increase of 9.6% in 2016/17, this was still not good enough, adding that the South
African police are letting the people of South Africa down.
Locally, the Laudium and Erasmia police station precincts have been named as the most dangerous areas in the Tshwane region, with Sunnyside following. The recent spate of murders in Laudium have led to a 200%
increase in this crime. Erasmia is next with an increased murder rate of 190% and the notorious Sunnyside follows, where killings have increased by 133.3%. Fikile, attributed the high murder rates in Laudium and Erasmia to the informal settlements in these areas that have "popped up and mushroomed!"
He added, "I am not a specialist, but I think poverty is part of the issue. It creates and invites crime."
The Laudium Sun approached local residents regarding their opinions on the latest stats and this is what some of them had to say:
Kovilen Naidoo (32) (Nu Metro) of 13th Avenue, Laudium said that he believes that the recent stats that have been released are flawed. "There is no way that burglary at residential premises went down because we know in Erasmia there have been hundreds of cases this year! The stats indicate that in 2016 there were 178 cases of burglary in Erasmia, but in 2017 it is reflected as having decreased to 155.
The only conclusion I can reach is that the police are either lazy or manipulating the crime records," Kovilen asserted.
Shantini Deochand (36) (Momentum) of Jet Street, Laudium said that she is sure that the stats aren't accurate and are not a true reflection of the crime in our area. "I see that there are 0 reported cases of shoplifting, but I know that I was personally at the Laudium police station and helped my friend, who owns a shop, open up a case of shoplifting! Yet the stats still show 0. This is impossible and could not have been an oversight as I remember in 2015 also, the crime stats were flawed! I am sure that this time around they will also come up with some excuse about the incorrect figures."
Bhavish Sewnarain (40) (Makro) of Van Leenhof Street, Erasmia said that he was a victim of burglary twice this year and many of his neighbours were victims too, so they cannot rely on the stats as being accurate. "I experienced two break-ins at my home this year, in February and April and both incidents were reported to the Erasmia police. Most of my neighbours have experienced a criminal incident of some sort this year, as well. So how can they say burglaries have decreased. No way!”
“I was a burglary victim twice this year!” Bhavish Sewnarain (40) of Van Leenhof Street, Erasmia.
“I know of a shoplifting incident that was reported a few months back, yet the stats show zero.” Shantini Deochand (36) of Jet Street, Laudium.