Cape Town - The numbers don’t add up.
The police were in Parliament this week to present their annual report and, on the surface, the picture was a rosy one.
The number of arrests for serious crime went up by 12 210, while overall arrests dropped by 289 907, an indication arrests were more focused on serious offences.
But only 1.18 million out of 2.53 million serious crimes were detected (46.56 percent), leading to 876 465 arrests in this category. Of these, only 398 938 culminated in trial-ready case dockets and there were just 305 806 convictions.
This represents an overall conviction rate for serious crimes of 25.89 percent, relative to the total number of such crimes.
Yet the annual report records a conviction rate of 91.65 percent, based on the number of cases that actually went to trial.
The figures for crimes against women were even more worrying.
Of 197 237 cases of murder, attempted murder, sexual offences, common assault and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm where women were the victims, there were 22 695 convictions – a conviction rate of 11.5 percent relative to the total.
The police reported a conviction rate of 82.57 percent based on the number of cases that went to trial.
Detectives boss Lieutenant-General Vineshkumar Moonoo said these were extremely violent and traumatic cases and many women withdrew charges out of fear or because of stigma.
Police commissioner General Riah Phiyega claimed a turnaround strategy in the crime intelligence division, reeling from the Richard Mdluli saga, was beginning to pay dividends.
“There is a transformed CI (crime intelligence) department that is more output oriented. If I just look at their project pipeline I sleep peacefully, because I know they are working very hard,” Phiyega said.
She was responding to police committee chairman Francois Beukman, who pointed to concerns by policing analysts that a drop in performance by the crime intelligence division was a major factor in increases in serious and violent crimes revealed in the latest crime statistics.
Moonoo said there had been problems in the division, but there was now “great improvement”.
Acting divisional commissioner for crime intelligence Lieutenant-General Bongiwe Zulu said it had exceeded all its targets. It had set a target of 29 552 network operations and conducted 34 534; 258 606 “operational analysis reports” and performed 309 165.
Yet her presentation didn’t mention that the targets in these categories had been set lower than the figure achieved in the previous year.
In 2012/13, the unit conducted 37 188 network operations and 311 807 operational analysis reports, a drop from 2011/12 when the figures were 49 019 network operations and 353 628 operational analysis reports.
Compared to 2011, the unit generated 19 467 fewer network operations and 44 463 fewer operational analysis reports in 2013/14.
In fact, Zulu claimed crime intelligence automatically increased its targets by 5 percent a year.
Beukman asked whether it was not setting them too low, since the crime statistics showed serious crimes were on the increase.
Phiyega said intelligence was contributing to the Hawks’ successes, especially in mall robberies.
DA spokeswoman on police Dianne Kohler Barnard said she was surprised by this claim, since mall robberies appeared to be out of control.
Between Thursday evening and Friday alone, there were attacks on four shopping centres in Pretoria and Cape Town.
The committee asked when the crime intelligence unit would be stabilised by the appointment of a permanent head, but Phiyega said this was dependent on the criminal and disciplinary cases against Mdluli being finalised.
Beukman said the claims by SAPS that there was better integration of efforts between crime intelligence and the detectives and Hawks would be weighed against the crime statistics next year.
Asked whether he was satisfied there would be no repeat of the irregular appointment of Mdluli, which bypassed established procedure, he said this was why he had asked for a briefing on vetting procedures for senior management, “to make sure there is at least a commitment that vetting will take place and that with high-profile appointments there is a measured approach and safety measures to make sure you don’t get somebody slipping through”.
The committee would keep tabs on implementation of recommendations of the National Development Plan, especially for the establishment of a policing board to set standards for promotion and appointment.
The hearings continue on Tuesday.
Political Bureau