BY Ella Smook
The latest crime statistics for the Western Cape released this week are inaccurate, with at least two robberies in Cape Town not being reflected.
According to statistics for the Cape Town Central police station, there were no robberies at business premises in 2006.
But a local business owner confirmed that his shop had been robbed at gunpoint twice during this period.
Wynand Meiring, at the time the owner of the Kloof Street KwikSpar, said that on May 14 and again on June 22, 2006, four armed men had entered the shop shortly after opening time, aimed their guns at him and a security guard, and ordered him to open the safe.
They had escaped with about R100 000 in the first incident and during the second incident had cleared both the safe and an ATM.
Meiring confirmed that dockets for armed robbery had been opened at the Cape Town Central police station in both instances.
Asked to comment, Community Safety spokesperson Makhaya Mani said the KwikSpar incidents had not been reported to the police.
But when told that this was incorrect as the Cape Argus had the case numbers, Mani said statistics were compiled by the national department of safety and security and that further queries should be referred to Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi's office.
National police spokesperson Sally de Beer said details of cases were entered on police systems throughout the country and that the person responsible for compiling these statistics should comment.
Chris de Kock, national head of the police's Crime Information Analysis Centre, did not want to comment on individual statistics as he did not have them to hand.
However, he said, "mistakes can be made" and that they allowed for a 5 percent margin of error.
The DA has criticised the statistics, alleging that station commissioners are being punished for statistical increases in crime and that this results in the alteration of statistics at station level.
But this has been denied by police and the responsible politicians.
The DA obtained a sworn affidavit by a senior policeman who claimed that some crime statistics had been manipulated.
The Cape Argus has a copy of the affidavit which lists, among other things, 13 cases where data was allegedly changed "to make crime balance".
Categories of crimes allegedly changed include altera-tions from burglary to trespassing, indecent assault to public indecency, and indecent assault to assault.
A senior police officer confirmed that the affidavit had been sent "to provincial police" and he also claimed that crime statistics were being changed.
"People are told to change things. The boss orders his underling to change things so that they look good," he said.
DA MP Lennit Max said he had raised the issue of the accuracy of crime statistics during the community safety budget vote in Parliament on June 6. He further claimed that "reliable senior sources" had informed him the manipulation of crime statistics was "a provincial phenomenon" which aimed to "ensure a reduction in crime".
"I believe the figures are not a true reflection," said Max.
"The provincial commissioner and the MEC for com stats are being manipulated."
Max told parliament that "crime increases are used to punish station commissioners - and their punishment is transfer. This prompts them to manoeuvre crime stats".
"As a result, crimes are not recorded timeously and in certain cases only an inquiry file is opened, without registering a crime.
"In some cases, police officers talk complainants out of making a case to ensure their crime statistics are low.
"The moment crime in-creases at a particular station, the station commissioners are being replaced, and as a result crimes are not recorded as they should be."
Max said he had been in-formed of manipulation of crime statistics at Bishop Lavis, Maitland and Kensington police stations.
The affidavit given to the Cape Argus is from a different police station.
The spokesperson for provincial Commissioner Mzwandile Petros, Senior Superintendent Neville Malila, said they had no knowledge of statistics being altered.
It was "totally untrue" that Petros had been informed of the manipulation of crime statistics, Malila said.
Referring to Max's allegations, Ramatlakane said "the person" making the claims was "a coward" ."(He is) choosing to go to the media and is not man/person enough to come out and disprove us also and challenge the police services."