CAPE TOWN, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Police visibility in communities and effective community policing should be intensified to cope with rising household crime, Parliament said on Friday.
Community policing must be underpinned by better response from police units to crime reporting and crime incidents, Parliament's Portforlio Committee on Police said in a statement sent to Xinhua.
Detection rates for various crime categories were still too low and the Detective Services division should ramp up their efforts to deal with current deficiencies, Committee Chairperson Francois Beukman said.
This came after the release on Thursday of the Victims of Crime Survey by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) which shows that crime was on the increase, with an estimated 1.24 million households experiencing crime over the period from March 31, 2017 to April 1, 2018.
According to the survey, housebreaking and burglary was the most prevalent crime affecting South Africans, accounting for 54 percent of all household crimes surveyed, as police visibility declined in the period surveyed.
It is estimated that the proportion of South Africans who never saw a police officer in uniform during the past 12 months increased by six percent during the period, the survey says.
This necessitated the South African Police Service (SAPS) to intensify the visibility of police units throughout the country, Beukman said.
"Regular police patrols, more roadblocks in hotspot areas, efficient sector policing, increased cooperation with community patrollers and Community Police Forums, private security companies and neighborhood watches are key in finding long-term solutions," Beukman said.
The survey also shows that more South Africans were dissatisfied with police. The percentage of South Africans who were satisfied with police response in the recording period was 54 percent, a decrease of 5.5 percent from the previous year.
While expressing concern over the drop in public's satisfaction with police, Beukman said filling all vacant posts at police stations should be prioritized.
Furthermore, efforts to recruit more police reservists as a force multiplier is more important than ever before, said Beukman.
It is essential that high crime spots were prioritized in the allocation of members, relevant equipment and vehicles, he added.
