Comments on: SA crime – the moaning continues

By: Spencer Eggworth

Spencer Eggworth — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:40:44 +0000

The only crime is that I’m allowed a blog…

By: Goblin

Goblin — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:43:01 +0000

I’m fed up with you moaning about everyone moaning I’m sure I’ve told you this before!

I suppose you’re going to lump me into the fourth category with this one but…the stats are down but does that really mean a decrease in crime across the board or a decrease in people reporting crime? I mean honestly, when it comes to basic break ins lots of people don’t even bother to phone the cops because some of them are so useless.

Yay for a decrease in murder though…unless people are becoming more competent at hiding the bodies…

Goblin’s last blog post was: Do not want. (Note: 6000 miles… is not responsible for the content of external internet sites)

By: Pamela

Pamela — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:36:37 +0000

Being a girl, I can never make up my mind and seem to switch groups on a regular basis!

Mostly I am optimistic and very happy about the downward trend but at the moment I am nitpicking – Crime is up in the Eastern Cape. In fact home robberies have doubled in the past year. What happened? Did the criminals decide they wanted a bit of wind in their hair? Were the police getting tougher everywhere else and they decided our sleepy little hollow would be easy pickings?

PE has always been known to have lower crime levels than the rest of the country but at this rate we are picking up rapidly.

Pamela’s last blog post was: I hate Mondays – especially this one! (Note: 6000 miles… is not responsible for the content of external internet sites)

By: 6000

6000 — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:00:40 +0000

@abingdon: I don’t think that there’s any doubt that crime is a horrendous problem in SA. And therefore, I don’t think there’s any doubt that your 3X -> 2.6X point is entirely correct.
That said, I do think there’s certainly a case for celebrating the successes and the progress that is being made, while acknowledging the need for further improvement and the fact that crime is still unacceptably high.
Thus, I don’t think I ignored your 5th group: I was merely commenting on the people with a negative viewpoint in this article. In fact, I consider myself to be in that 5th group.

My point about general negativity is borne out by the newspaper headlines on the streetlights this morning. After stats which showed murder rates down, rape down, aggravated robbery down, the hadline was: “Highjackings on the rise”.

Yes, they’re right. But is that really what people should be being force-fed over their cornflakes? Is that what we want to read?

By: abingdon

abingdon — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:52:07 +0000

And then there’s the 5th group you declined to comment on, the balanced realists, a group who take a longer term view of the stats rather than tha of the year on year doomsayers or the naively optimistic.

Put simply, if a particular statistic was X ten years ago, rose to 3X last year and is now 2.6X, you can both celebrate the minor improvement in the short term and decry the really horrific longer term trend.

To provide a balanced view you need to explore this option too, 6000.

By: hank

hank — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:00:38 +0000

As always, you’ve nailed it. Well done.

PS I am a Category 2. But in my world, “there is murder, robbery, vandalism and nobody obeys the speed limits, but I live in hope that there will be less of all this in the future”… perhaps I’m a negative hopeless optimist?

By: Sylar

Sylar — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:16:36 +0000

Not only is it down but it is on a downward trend, that means that it decresed even futher since last time.

Things don’t happen overnight…. but the trend shows that things are happening.

By: Arthur

Arthur — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:36:59 +0000

Great post – fully agree that it is time to stop the moaning and do something positive. Thank-you for a great post.

Arthur’s last blog post was: Africa Draws The Short Straw – Again… (Note: 6000 miles… is not responsible for the content of external internet sites)

By: Gordonasinbay

Gordonasinbay — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:45:57 +0000

The statistics seem to moving the other way here in Blighty, or at least in London and the Home Counties.

(Trucks don’t get hi-jacked here, by the way – the crims can’t afford the diesel to get away far enough!)

Whilst the SA stats may start from a high level, any reduction in crime has to be a good thing doesn’t it? It needs to continue obviously…

Near here is a town where I used to live, and walk around freely after dark on a Saturday night. No more.

I’m not moaning about it, just taking reasonable precautions.

By: 6000

6000 — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:26:57 +0000

@Nicole: Then you’ll agree that they could have done a better job with the truck highjacking figures, then?

Also, if I were them, I’d have probably gone for a double figure reduction in murder, what with an election coming up soon. No?