The headline message of the Third Quarter Crime Statistics, released on February 17, is that more than 83 murders and 138 rapes are recorded daily, making South Africa one of the most violent countries. Oddly, these numbers do not warrant the declaration of a national state of disaster.
Could it be that South Africa can only declare a single national disaster at a time? Or that, as a disaster is by definition an unexpected event, the high crime rate in South Africa does not qualify? Or could it be that, as South Africa already has a Police Minister, a crime national disaster has been averted or that a plan has been put in place to redress the crime situation?
Shouldn’t South Africa have a Crime Minister? In case you are hesitant to answer in the affirmative, bear in mind that, according to the ‘Crime Index’s Crime Rate by Country 2023’, South Africa places in a medal position – it is third, with 76.86 incidents for every 100 000 people, behind Papua New Guinea (80.79) and Venezuela (83.76). Completing the top ten are Afghanistan (76.31), Honduras (74.54), Trinidad and Tobago (71.63), Guyana (68.74), El Salvador (67.79), Brazil (67.49), and Jamaica (67.42).
In President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 8 328-word State of the Nation Address on February 2, the reference to the socioeconomic challenges of poverty appeared eight times, unemployment four times, cost of living three times, and inequality once. He mentioned electricity 17 times, crime nine times, and crimes three times. So, a total of 12 times for crime(s).
The references to crime and crimes, with the exclusion of one heading, were: (1) The social partners have expressed their intention to conclude a social compact and have continued to work on a framework to enable joint action in key areas such as energy, transport and logistics, employment creation and skills development, investment and localisation, social protection, crime and corruption. (2) Violent crime takes a heavy toll on every South African. (3) We are strengthening the South African Police Service to prevent crime and improve the capacity of the National Prosecuting Authority and courts to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice. (4) This includes putting more police on the streets and setting up specialised teams that will focus on specific types of crime. (5) The specialised police teams that are working on tackling crimes like kidnapping, extortion and illegal mining have had several breakthroughs, arresting dozens of suspects and achieving several convictions. (6) Firm action is being taken to tackle economic sabotage and related crimes that are causing great damage to the economy. (7) Just as we have embarked on economic reforms in electricity, water, telecommunication and logistics through Operation Vulindlela, we are embarking on a process of reform to improve the effectiveness of our fight against crime. (8) We will also use data-driven methods in a more sophisticated way to identify and target crime hot spots. (9) Crimes against women and children remain a deeply disturbing feature of our national life. (10) We must all play our part, as individuals, institutions and leaders across society, to end these crimes against women and children. (11) By fighting economic sabotage and organised crime, our infrastructure will be more secure, and businesses will be able to operate more freely.
For a different perspective on crime in South Africa, you might want to read an Institute for Security Studies article published on February 9 and headlined ‘Soaring murder rates underline the lack of sound direction for policing’, with a secondary headline that read: ‘Crime data analysis should play a much bigger role in policing and safety in South Africa’.
Which leads me to hesitantly pose the eight-word rhetorical question: Is there actually an implementable crime prevention plan?