A mere 3% of house breakings result in convictions and is a clear indication of a failure to ensure that those responsible for these crimes are first arrested and then convicted for their crimes.
The Victims of Crime Survey, focusing on house-breaking and robbery, released yesterday by Statistics South Africa, details that:
- Out of all housebreaking/burglaries reported to police, an arrest was made in only 19% of cases – meaning that the SAPS failed to make any arrest in 81% of cases reported; and
- The conviction rate for housebreakings/burglaries was only 14.3%.
This means that out of all house-breaking or burglaries reported, just 3% resulted in a conviction.
The SAPS are responsible for making South Africa safer, yet if arrests are made in only 19% of all cases, there is a serious problem which must be addressed urgently if South Africans are to ever feel safe in their homes.
The Jeffreys Bay Police battle with a lack of vehicles and manpower, resulting in residents often relying on private security companies when needing urgent assistance.
