Crime stats – Are we going back?

Sir,
There is a well-used idiom that says: ‘You cannot expect change if you continue to do the same thing!’ The crime statistics delivered today make us remember the saying, ‘Same old, same old’!
It is not necessary to analyse each individual crime category – that is not how the minds of the public work. South Africans have a general aggravated feeling of being unsafe. They know that they live in a dangerous environment – whether at work, at play or at home – they are at risk of becoming a victim of crime at any time and at any place. They don’t need the stats to tell us that…
If change is required, we cannot continue to do the same thing, and change does not only lie with law enforcement.
We are going to have to harness the whole of society – a comprehensive and all-inclusive approach – if we want to make sustainable differences to the crime and violence besetting South African society.
Every government department, and also corporate and civil society, is going to have to play their roles in reducing crime. Agencies such as NICRO (the South African National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders) must be recognised and fully-supported, as partners of government, to do what we do best – and that is changing offending behaviour and working to prevent the onset of crime through addressing early onset behaviour through preventive programmes such as family support, safety ambassadors and intensive therapeutic work with adults and children with challenging behaviours.
For further enquiries contact NICRO on the details below.
Jacques Sibomana – Communication & marketing Manager
Tel: 021 462 0017, Mobile: 083 345 6870, Fax: 021 462 2447