AMID the release of the much anticipated crime statistics by minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa earlier this year, South Africans were left with a false sense of security.
A factsheet compiled from the statistics by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), published by www.africacheck.org shows that while assault cases decreased, violent crimes including murder, attempted murder and sexual offences increased significantly.
Kempton Park was not without its fair share of heinous misdeeds.
Thirty-five-year-old Gerald Carey was assaulted by police officers on May 9, in an incident which destroyed his faith in the SAPS. According to Carey said the two officers pulled him over on his way back to his Glen Marais home after a small gathering with friends. He explained that things got out of hand when the officers were unable to get money from him and he was accused of being intoxicated.
He was driven to a secluded area where he was severely beaten. Although he managed to escape to the safety of his father’ house, the effect of the ordeal were not easy to shake off.
Despite him opening a case of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm with the IPID, no arrests were made and the officers implicated in the matter remained on duty.
Carey’s incident came shortly after Mozambican taxi driver, Mido Macia, was dragged behind a police vehicle in Daveyton.
Incidents such as these have put law enforcement under public scrutiny and added to the cynicism among communities when it comes to police.
Among the many violent crimes that were committed against Kemptonians during 2013, the murder of Pikkie Stassen and his wife, Rina in August, left the community of Allen Grove shocked. Their bodies were discovered by their daughter on the morning of August 19.
Mr Stassen was found tied up with several stab wounds, while his wife was also found tied up and gagged.
Thabo Mphahlele (26), Howard Sekwati (27), Kenneth Mojela (24) and Ntombe E Thobejane (25) were arrested in connection with the elderly couple’s murder a few days after the incident. Two of the suspects were nabbed in Sethokga Hostel, Tembisa, in possession of the some of the items taken from the Stassen’s home.
Their bail hearing continues at Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court.
Crimes such the Stassen’s murder are a bleak reminder of the fact that incidents of murder increased from 15 609 murders in 2011/12 to 16 259 murders in 2012/13. This means that there was an increase of 650 murder cases or a 4,2 per cent increase when comparing the total numbers of murders with the previous year. This works out to almost two additional murders per day on average during the 2012/13 financial year – making the total average of murders per day 45 from 43.
Furthermore, the bleak numbers continue to climb with drug-related crimes on a substantial 13,5 per cent increase making it the single largest annual increase in the past decade. However police have made concerted efforts to take actions against drug crimes.
The recent arrests made by the Hawks on November 30, in Edleen, are a reminder thereof. A Nigerian and Tanzanian man were nabbed at the storage facility near Edleen Primary School in possession of heroin, tik and cocaine with an approximate street value of R75-million. This, according to Hawks spokesman, Capt Paul Ramaloko, is the biggest raid for the Hawks this year. A further R3.2-million worth of cocaine was found in Croydon on the same day.
The crime statistics presented for the 2012/13 financial year (April 1, 2012, to March 31, 2013) revealed that South Africa experienced one of its worst years in a number of years from a crime reduction point of view. This is because for the past eight years between 2002 and 2011 there have been notable decreases in most crime categories. Some of the largest decreases were recorded in 2009/10 when South Africa hosted the FIFA World Cup. However, since 2011/12 it was already apparent that the decreases previously recorded in several types of violent crime had slowed substantially while other violent crime categories (such as business and house robberies) had stabilised at relatively high levels.
Additional information from www.africacheck.org.
