Cape Town - Government has committed to increase the violent crime detection rate in South Africa from the current 13.5 percent to 34 percent in the next three years, with Justice Minister Jeff Radebe on Sunday also saying steps were being taken to address challenges in the country's criminal justice system.
And while authorities are happy with the reported reduction in most serious crime, they admit a lot would need to be done to maintain the decline that had been seen in organised business robberies and cash heists.
Recent statistics also show that there has been a marked decrease in the volume of sexual offences from 70 514 cases in March 2009 to 68 332 last year.
Radebe, who was speaking at a Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster media briefing in Pretoria, said security agencies were "better prepared than ever before" to detect and deal with serious crime and corruption.
Government's crime statistics for 2009/2010 show the number of murders in the country has dropped by 8.6 percent - the lowest rate since 1995.
The cluster plays a crucial role in government's role to ensure the safety of citizens and an effective criminal justice system in South Africa. Last year it signed a delivery agreement with specific crime reduction targets including reducing reported serious crimes from 3,924 to at least 3,767 per 100 000 people and house robberies and hijacking from 97 to 67 per 100 000 people.
Signatories to the delivery agreement were the ministers for justice and constitutional development, state security, defence, police, finance, home affairs, and monitoring and evaluation.
"We are encouraged by the success that our security agencies have achieved in recent times in the war against criminals...there has been a focused attention on improving crime information and intelligence to support crime prevention and investigation," Radebe said.
To achieve the visible policing approach outlined in President Jacob Zuma's State of the Nation Address two weeks ago, Radebe said the State will continue to improve the capacity and effectiveness of the police in the identified fields such as detective services and forensic specialists.
According to Police Minister, Nathi Mthethwa, a plan was being finalised to build about 103 police stations in rural areas with the focus in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape.
Over 2 300 general detectives were appointed last year bringing the total detective establishment to 22 687. A further 4 993 new police recruits reported for training at various colleges across the country last month.
Another tool to be used in the battle to combat crime would be to ensure the speedy transformation of the judiciary to achieve maximum conviction in cases.
"More judicial officers were appointed last year, 41 judges and 107 magistrates to relief pressure points. The NPA (National Prosecuting Authority) appointed 83 prosecutors and Legal Aid South Africa made 93 appointments," said Radebe.
He added that in order to improve on case backlogs, about 56 regional magistrates and 17 district magistrates were appointed and have been deployed in courts to pay attention to certain cases.
A total of 10 022 cases were finalised in 56 additional regional courts and 17 district courts in the current financial year.
