South Africans face a crime information blackout for a year or longer, despite the fact that the government will continue to collect and analyse statistics for its own purposes.
This means that the public, including foreign investors and tourists, will be denied information until the authorities lift the ban.
The blocking of the further release of statistics by Steve Tshwete, the minister for safety and security, follows a recent instruction by the national police commissioner, Jackie Selebi, that the system of collection be revised and new computer technology installed to weed out "flaws".
The blackout, however, has angered crime analysts, researchers and opposition politicians who say the moratorium comes at a time when the number of reported crimes is "at an all-time high".
Continues Below ↓
Issuing figures to the public was not Selebi's 'main priority' "It's an absolute abuse of power and a sinister attempt by Tshwete and the government to manipulate and manage the news - to spin the situation as it suits them. It's outrageous that they think they can get away with this in a democratic country," said the Democratic Party's spokesperson on safety and security, Douglas Gibson.
Selebi's spokesperson, Sally de Beer, denied that there was a political motive for the ban and said Selebi required accurate statistics for operational reasons.
De Beer said issuing figures to the public was not Selebi's "main priority". She said they "should be in a position to review the decision in twelve months' time".
She said it was difficult to pinpoint the extent of the problem, that inaccuracies could be as high as 15 percent but could also be within the internationally accepted error margin of 5 percent.
Selebi's "doubts with regard to accuracy" and the fact that top police management viewed the figures with "scepticism" led to the moratorium by Tshwete, De Beer said.
'This decision is very bad for public confidence'
Continues...
|
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Digg
Delicious
Newsvine
Facebook
muti
Twitter
