Johannesburg - South Africans have become so desensitised to traumatic crimes that they are reluctant to call or even go to a police station to report incidents.
“It has happened before, we have reported it and nothing was done about it. This is how people feel about policing in South African,” explained Lizette Lancaster, the manager of the crime and justice information hub and justice programme at the Institute for Security Studies.
She said the latest Victims of Crime Survey revealed that just 36% of victims reported street robberies “even though knives and guns were used in the attacks”.
Lancaster said the fact that criminals were now targeting schools indicated the level of confidence they had gained over time.
“Criminals think they can do whatever they want because policing is at its weakest. We need to bring in capable police officers.”
South Africans, she said, had been so exposed to traumatic crimes that they had become desensitised.
“Minor crimes are ignored, as they believe the police won’t take them seriously or they won’t even attempt to investigate. People have experienced serious crimes. They have been invaded in their homes. So they are not going to report because the police failed them with bigger cases.”
Lancaster argued that many South Africans were despondent because the police appeared incompetent to tackle the problems at source. Political meddling that has dogged the police contributed to the deterioration in policing.
Lancaster’s sentiments are echoed in a new report by private security company ADT that reveals how fewer people are reporting crimes.
“A large number of crimes simply go unreported because of the nature of the crime; a lack of confidence in the system or because residents may be unsure of exactly who to contact,” said the company’s regional executive inland, Agnieszka Gryn.
In other instances, “criminals threaten further violence if a crime is reported,” she said.
She urged the public to report crimes to assist authorities to establish crime trends.
“This in turn leads to better allocation of resources. It also helps identify both the motive and modus of the crime.”
Gryn encouraged communities to know their policing precincts. “Policing precincts are broken down into sectors and these are your first port of call.
"The first step is to contact your respective sector vehicle for any complaint or incident. A further advantage is that 10111 complaints get broadcast over the SAPS radio network and all SAPS vehicles on that network will hear the complaint.”
Gauteng Department of Community Safety spokesperson Ofentse Morwane said owing to the restricted oversight work of the department, it would not have information relating to areas that experience unreported crime.
Lancaster called for an overhaul of the criminal justice system. She said the appointment of Gauteng’s new provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela, was a step in the right direction as he was a career police officer.
“We need people with experience. The problem started when we appointed people with no understanding of policing and the challenges facing this country.”