“This serves as a further indication that our crime stats desperately need to be independently scrutinised if they are going to be accurate and enjoy the confidence of the South African people,” newly appointed Democratic Alliance police spokesperson, Zakhele Mbhele, said in a statement.

The auditor general, in his notes attached to the report, stated that claims that the SAPS was performing – and diligently responding to complaints – were unreliable up to 48 percent of the time.

“If this is the case, it would mean that the SAPS is failing in its fundamental function to properly and effectively manage complaints; and that they are failing to report credibly so that the real progress made by the SAPS in the fight against crime can be tracked,” Mbhele said.

More importantly, if the SAPS did not have accurate statistics, they could not have an effective policing strategy to combat crime, and ordinary South Africans – particularly the poor who could not afford private security – would bear the brunt.

“This lack of action and credible reporting is ultimately the responsibility of the National Police Commissioner, Riah Phiyega, whose incompetence and lack of decisive leadership have seen a decline of a SAPS whose ability to combat and report crime effectively wanes by the day,” Mbhele said.

There was a real need for the crime statistics to be independently audited by institutions, such as the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and other independent firms, to prevent those with a direct interest in inflating them from showing better performance in the SAPS when that was not the case.

“Additionally, the DA proposes that South Africa requires real-time crime statistics to be publicly available at every SAPS station so that localised responses to crime can be tailored appropriately and implemented timeously.

“Crime affects each and every one of us. We must fight it with all means at our disposal because the people of South Africa deserve better. They should not have to live under siege in their homes, their cars, and their communities,” Mbhele said.

ANA