Note to editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Leona Kleynhans MPL
Negative crime trends continue to plague the Free State which indicates that the province is losing the war against crime.
The latest Free State crime statistics for the three month period April to June 2022, in comparison to the same period last year, show a horrific increase of 40% in carjackings, an increase of 21 cases.
Kidnapping increased by 29% compared with the same period last year, to 126 cases.
Robbery at businesses also shows an 11% increase, to 224 cases, with the majority of these cases reported at the Park Road station in Bloemfontein.
Murders increased from 233 to 243 cases, a 4% increase.
These crimes, especially violent crimes, are an indication that SAPS are under increasing pressure from hardened criminals, and are not winning the fight against violent crime in the Free State.
A 27% decrease in reported house robberies is welcomed, although 125 cases is still too high. Truck-jackings also showed a 13% decrease. Parys area is still identified as a truck-jacking hotspot.
It is also welcomed that reported cases of stock theft has shown a 9,8% decrease, although Harrismith is still the hotspot in the province for this crime. This crime remains under-reported due to mistrust in the criminal justice system.
The SAPS remain under-resourced which is hampering the crack down on crime. The last intake of reservists was 200 recruits in 2019, out of 10 000 applications. The centralisation of the training of reservists, compounded by the massive budgetary constraints faced by SAPS, has meant that this crucial programme which could greatly assist to mitigate against the dwindling numbers of police officers, has all but collapsed. The DA believes that the training of reservists must be returned to individual police stations. This could bring relief to the manpower shortages in those stations within months.
Drastic action will have to be taken to bring our police service up to standard to withstand the onslaught from criminals. The DA’s Community Safety Bill that is currently before the Free State Legislature will contribute to the fight against crime in the province.