Pretoria - Despite an increase of 13.6 percent in drug related crimes and 2.4 percent in the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said he was encouraged by these figures as these categories of crime were heavily dependent on police action.
Speaking at the release of the National Crime Statistics for the period 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010, Mthethwa said the increase was an indication of improved police detection.
"Over the last year, we have engaged with a significant number of communities that are affected by the abuse of drugs...Police have increased their ratio of apprehending people in drug-related crime by 13.6 percent between 2008/2009 and 2009/2010," the minister elaborated.
He added while the increase in drug detection was a positive trend, it was also an area of concern for police because it indicated that there was an increase in the availability of drugs in the country.
Mthethwa noted that the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition had also increased by 2.4 percent - another type of crime that was heavily dependent on police action for detection.
He expressed concern at the number of police firearms that were lost, adding that measures, which included the Integrated Ballistic Testing system at police stations, had been introduced to curb these losses.
"During the last fiscal year, we have recovered 61.6 percent of stolen or lost firearms. We shall be tightening the systems to ensure we improve on this percentage," the minister said.
Mthethwa expected that once the figure for next year had been finalised, and the bulk of the firearm amnesty figures included, there would be a greater increase in the number of firearms recovered.
Cases of drunken driving had also increased by 10.6 percent.
The minister said while police would continue to mount operations, a more integrated approach from various organs of government and society was needed.
He added that while government-led campaigns such as Arrive Alive were critical in creating awareness and promoting safe and responsible driving, more could be done.
The minister also acknowledged the success of The Hawks, who had arrested 46 of the top 50 criminal suspects, thereby cracking the backbone of major crime syndicates.
