DEAR Editor,-
Last week’s Herald refers. The headline used in the printed version ‘Margate is burglary capital of province’ and online ‘Crime stats: Margate’s sorry claim to fame’ have caused immense concern. #HorribleHeraldHeadlines resulted in #MakingMargateMad!
ALSO READ : Crime Stats: Margate’s sorry claim to fame
The role of the press in a free and fair democracy is not only recognised, but fully supported and protected. As our country, economy and society face immense challenges, the press’s role in both informing the public and protecting our fragile democracy is vital.
The press is not just an impartial observer, but also has a duty to play. The Herald, in particular, has a long commitment and passionate approach to the local community and that is recognised. However, the headlines referred to above were not only not up to professional standards of reporting responsibly and accuracy, but also caused undue alarm and harm to the community and economy of Margate.
Margate Police Station is structurally responsible for law and order in a vast area of Ugu District Municipality.
The SAP stats are collated by the responsible area station and so reported. This is fully acknowledged.
The headlines are not acknowledged or agreed with and, in fact, have caused totally undue harm to our economy and community. Locals reading the headlines, let alone visitors and potential investors, could come to the assumption that Margate is not the place to visit or invest in. This causes harm to our economic growth, job creation efforts and social stability.
The truth in the official stats was also not correctly reported in the body copy! We are not the ‘Burglary capital of the province’. In fact, the Margate Policing area is not the worst in KZN in this regard (page 117 of the Crime Stats report) and actually showed an improvement over the past three years!
Whilst the level of crime in the large geographical area that Margate Police Station is responsible for is totally unacceptable – and a major concern because Margate (the town) has shown an improvement over the past three years. This is due to the tireless diligence of the personnel deployed in our town and the astonishing dedication to their purpose of the CPFs, MBA, Margate ratepayers and other community organisations.
ALSO READ : Crime Stats: Margate in top 10 – for burglaries!
Margate is safer now than it was three years ago. The facts support this. The #HorribleHeraldHeadline and the reporting belie this!
On all the other metrics reported in the Crime Stats report, we don’t feature for undue alarm at all and are not even mentioned in any of the other, notorious ‘Top 30s’ – also, the result of the diligence of the officers and community organisations responsible. It is hurtful to these guys to have the headline casting incorrect aspersions to their efforts in Margate!
The Community of Margate and the relevant law and order role-players demand that the Herald correct the perception that the headlines and article have (hopefully inadvertently) created, with the same highlighted coverage that was ascribed in the original publications.
I am sure that local SAP Officers will be happy to share the stats from Margate that support the ongoing efforts in improving law and order in our town (and others in our ward). The CPFs will also gladly assist reporters in this regard.
There has been a community call to boycott the Herald! I cannot support this call. A ship on a course (the Herald in this instance) may have strayed slightly off track, but instead of sinking the ship, let’s all simply get the vessel back on course in the voyage that is such an essential role in our democracy, our economy, job creation and crime prevention.
We cannot afford to sink the vessel as its role is vital. The Herald’s role is acknowledged and applauded.
Let’s all work together in turning #MakingMargateMad back into the truth, which is #MargateIsMagic and get down to the ongoing business of creating jobs and growing our economy in a stable and safe environment.
DA CLLR DAVE WATSON
Ward 2 (Yes, that includes Margate)
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