What do the crime stats mean? Why do we publishing crime stats?
15 October 2019
On 12 September 2019, the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, released this year’s Crime Stats. The Crime Stats cover the period from 1 April 2018, to 31 March 2019. They focus on 21 categories of crime, encompassing data collected from both the South African Police Service (SAPS), as well as the public. It is important that the statistics are released to keep the public informed of the state of affairs in a country that is rife with criminal activity. However, it is just as important to understand that the crime stats play an even bigger role than mere information circulation.
The Crime Stats are divided into two groups. The first is Community Reported Serious Crimes (CRSCs), which consist of 17 crime categories reported by members of the public. These include offences such as murder, aggravated robbery and arson. According to the Crime Stats, CRSCs made up 83.1% of the 21 serious crime categories and went up by 0.7% compared to the previous period. The second group is Crimes Dependent on Police Action (CPDA) for detection, such as drug-related offences and sexual offences detected as a result of police action. The Crime Stats indicate that these made up 16.0% of the serious crimes. From this, it is apparent that the SAPS relies heavily on the public to report criminal activity in order to act.
According to the Crime Stats, in the reporting period, 2.01 million crimes were recorded, which is a decrease from the previous reporting period. Despite this development, over 21 000 people were murdered, marking a 3.4% increase from the previous period, with gun violence being one of the primary contributors. Over 52 000 people were reported as victims of sexual offences, of which 46.5% were children who were victims of sexual assault. There was a drastic increase in the recorded figures for sexual offences, recording a 19% jump as a result of CPDA offences and an overall 4.6% increase in all sexual offences recorded. There was a drop in the theft of motor vehicles and motorcycles.
What does this mean?