New deal to tackle dismal crime stats

On average at least three people are murdered in South Africa per hour and three children are murdered every day.

These were some of the grim crime statistics released last week by our new police bosses – minister Senzo Mchunu and national commissioner Fannie Masemola.

The stats are for the quarter of April, May and June, when more than 9 300 rapes were perpetrated, 91 of which happened at educational institutions, like universities, colleges and even day-care facilities.

Of that, 74 took place at schools, where we expect our children to be safe.

One of the most worrying stats is that 11 of the 30 police stations in the country where murder cases increased are in the Western Cape.

Embedded in that is the fact that Cape Town Central police has had an increase in contact crimes and is in the top 10 in the province.

Also a total of 79 people were killed in Nyanga in the three months, making it the murder capital of the quarter.

These are stats that prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to say that Cape Town is the capital city of criminality, gang violence and murder.

Capetonians, especially those on the Cape Flats, could have told him that for free.

Ramaphosa was at the Erica Sports Ground in Belhar last week, along with his police bosses and Premier Alan Winde, to sign a Cooperative Agreement to Combat Crime.

This is great, but leaves me wondering what they were doing before.

Have they been working independently on the same problem? Have they not been cooperating to combat crime, which would explain the dismal statistics?

And is this (long-overdue) agreement one of the consequences of the Government of National Unity, which is great, if it is?

Because let’s face it, over the years, the relationship between the national and local police structures have been fraught and combative at the best of times.

Seeing the two finally agree on a crime-fighting strategy is encouraging.

Hopefully this agreement will end the finger-pointing and grand-standing when it comes to crime.

Quite frankly I don’t think anyone cares who gets on with whom and who takes credit for what.

We just want to feel safe in our streets and in our homes for a change. We don’t even care how it is done anymore.

And I dare say that even if it means we have to sacrifice some of our other constitutional freedoms, we will take it.

Because what use is the freedom of speech or privacy, if you aren’t alive to enjoy it?

What good is freedom of movement, when you can’t go anywhere and then could even be shot dead in your home?

And what good is the right to education, when your child could be violated by a sexual predator on the playground?

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