INLSA

Suren Naidoo

Business Against Crime KwaZulu-Natal boss Jody Nair welcomed the drop in major crimes announced in yesterday’s release of crime statistics as “very pleasing”.

However, Nair and Andrew Layman, the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO, said the hike in commercial crimes was concerning.

The statistics released by Police Minister Nathi Mthetwa for the period April, 2010 to March, 2011 indicated that most forms of business-related crime had reduced in KZN, including shoplifting and bank robberies. However, commercial or “white collar” crime had increased 10.9 percent, continuing its upward trend by increasing by 76.5 percent since 2003/4.

“The general drop in crime was something we were expecting, especially because of the benefits of increased policing due to the World Cup,” said Nair.

“The police set a world-class standard during the World Cup to help ensure everything went off so well. Many of those strategies were carried into the rest of the year and we are seeing the benefits of a larger police force and better policing,” he said.

“However, it’s important for business and the police to keep a closer eye on the increase in commercial crime. What we are seeing is a drop in contact crimes such as robberies and a shift to commercial and organised crime.

“It is a good thing that violent crime is being displaced, but it means that more attention needs to now be given to dealing with commercial crime,” said Nair.

According to the figures released yesterday, robberies at non-residential premises in KZN were down 6 percent, following the 17.3 percent drop reported last year. Burglaries at non-residential premises dropped from 11 314 reported cases in 2009/10 to 10 984 cases in the latest figures. There had been just one bank robbery in KZN in the period, compared with 22 in the 2007/08 year.

“Overall, the drop in crime is good news… The World Cup contributed to this due to the increased capacity of the police, and many benefits are continuing. There’s greater consciousness about the need for visible policing,” said Layman.

SA Banking Risk Information Centre CEO Kalyani Pillay said she was “encouraged” by the decreases in crimes such as bank robberies and cash heists.