The true extent of the crime scourge in South Africa is not known. It is under reported and improperly recorded. The official figures pried from the guvmunt's cold hands every 12-18 months is so severely massaged it would make a Oriental masseuse blush. And coming (pardon pun) without happy results usually a year or more in arrears makes them pretty useless anyway, like having an old shopping list. Anyone out there who believes the crime figures represent an actual picture of the crime problem in South Africa needs to contact me about a bridge situated in Sydney harbour that I have for sale.
So we agree, the figures are twaddle. What we need in order to take them seriously is for a proper running audit compiled by an independent body from the private sector, preferably - from outside the country, preferably - monitored daily and released monthly, preferably. No BEE or AAs please. Not with my security.
We need to see the extent and location of the damage in order to know how and where to fix it. What is clear here is that the police have let this problem get away to a point where crime is now so completely out of control, it has moulded into the fabric of society. It is a way of life and income for many people. Anybody, any time can be a victim - or a criminal. You just don't know. Reigning in crime, even a touch, much less getting on top of it completely will require a mammoth overhaul of the police service - top to bottom - and a concerted public re-education of the masses explaining the rudiments of morals and ethics. People have to be taught right from wrong. We all assume it comes naturally. Obviously we were wrong. Somehow, I think it would be easier to fill your pool using a sieve.
From the DA's Eye On Crime blog
Last week, it was revealed that a large number of 10111 call centre calls were not being attended to. Now, it has been reported that as many as three in four reported domestic violence incidents are not being recorded properly, or at all, at South African Police Stations.
According to DA spokesperson on safety and security Dianne Kohler Barnard, a report from the Auditor-General documents chronic failings in adequately reporting domestic violence incidents at Police Stations in eight of the nine provinces.
The report even highlights in some instances 75% failure rates in recording domestic violence incidents in Occurrence Books. When this happens, no record numbers get assigned in the Domestic Violence Register, which directly affects the number of criminal cases that end up being prosecuted.
Also highlighted in the report were serious attendance problems at SAPS training courses, particularly in relation to programmes dealing with victims of domestic violence.
“Of all the targeted operational SAPS members anticipated to attend training on the Domestic Violence Programme, only 10.7% attended. In the Victim Empowerment Programme, only 1.2% attendance was confirmed. This is absolutely unacceptable given the already dire situation facing the police with respect to skills training,” said Kohler Barnard.
“This entirely unacceptable situation has profound knock-on effects for the Police’s ability to combat domestic violence. The DA calls for officers, including commanding officers, to be held to account when Victims Reports are not correctly logged.”
There is no doubt that Government’s record on addressing domestic violence is already dubious, given the disbanding of the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Units. But this just seems absurd.
Why aren’t the police taking victims seriously? Whether it is a man in need of assistance on a 10111 call or a desperate wife looking for help, these please should be attended to in an urgent and professional manner.
The DA has called on government to hold officers accountable to performance agreements, which include amongst other things, training and incident recording.
Kohler Barnard said that those that do not deliver should not be kept on. Similarly, officers who perform well should be recognised and rewarded accordingly through a well administered performance management system.
A performance management system is an excellent idea, however, if the SAPS can’t even bring themselves to pick up a phone, how will they manage to incorporate performance systems into their structures?
1 Opinion(s):
No shit Sherlock. An earlier article of mine visted the question of whether the crime stats were fraudulant. My conclusion was that about 80% of crimes go unreported. Some twat disagreed, but like my estimation on emigration figures, they are starting to appear alarmingly accurate.
Post a Comment