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NMBM the unsafest place after dark, says Stats SA report

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Dear MyPE

Residents of the Eastern Cape are afraid – very afraid – as they live under the daily threat of crime. This emerged in the report Crime Statistics Series Volume II, Public perceptions about crime prevention and the Criminal Justice System, In-depth analysis of the Victims of Crime Survey data published yesterday by Stats SA.

A total of 80.2 % of people in the Nelson Mandela Metro feel unsafe when it is dark. This was the highest of all metros according to the report.

Living in a state of anxiety, high stress and fear is destructive to one’s well-being. Just this week in the northern areas of Port Elizabeth my colleague in the legislature, Marshall von Buchenroder’s three traumatised children were held up at gun point when they walked to the shop.

People are not only the hell in with crime, but also with load shedding, which compounds one’s fear as it does not only get dark now, you have a total blackout.

The high crime rate in this province negatively impacts on the environment for investment and economic growth. Unless we can stamp out crime jobs will continue to decline.

According to the data collected from respondents, Nelson Mandela Bay had the highest proportion of households who indicated that it took police between thirty minutes to an hour to respond to an emergency call at 50.7%. Furthermore, 11.5% of households in the Eastern Cape take between 60-120 minutes to access the nearest police station which is the highest in the country for that time frame.

The fear of housebreaking/burglary was highest in the Eastern Cape 64,2% and North West 64,2%, while home robbery was more likely to be feared most in the Eastern Cape at 56,0%. At 49,1%, the highest levels of fear for assault were recorded in the Eastern Cape for the 2013/14 period.

The rate of crime in the province would be vastly reduced if SAPS in the Eastern Cape was better resourced.

High visibility policing is recognised to cut the crime rate by 40%.

The crisis with the lack of functional vehicles at police stations in this province is a direct cause of our high rate of crime in the Eastern Cape.

The DA reiterates its view that we need high visibility policing, rapid response units and a well-trained detective service if we are going to reduce crime and nail and jail the criminals.

The DA wants safe communities where we can get on with our lives without being constantly haunted by the fear of being robbed, burgled, raped, hijacked, murdered or assaulted. What people want is a government that works for us, not against us.

Regards

Bobby Stevenson, MPL

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Port Elizabethan

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