violent crime – praag.org

Violent crime, murder on the increase in SA

Most violent crime categories in South Africa have gone up according to 2012/13 figures and last year was the third time murder increased in 20 years.

Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko and national police commissioner Riah Phiyega were expected to release the 2013/14 crime statistics in Pretoria on Friday.

According to the statistics, the Eastern Cape had the highest murder rate, followed by the Western Cape, Free State, and the Northern Cape. Limpopo had the lowest murder rate.

Business robberies leaped with a staggering 300% and rural areas were more dangerous.

In 80% of cases the victim knew the perpetrator.

Aggravated robbery also went up, as did business, house, and car robberies.

Last year, the ISS (Institute for Security Studies) said the crime statistics police had released last September had contained a miscalculation, and that they had downplayed the rate of violent crime.

At the time police had used population estimates calculated by Statistics SA in 2001, which expected the population to be 50.6 million in 2011, instead of using data from the 2011 census, which showed there were 52.3m people in South Africa.

By not updating the population number, police had understated the increase in serious and violent crimes. At the time the police ministry and the national police commissioner’s office dismissed the criticism.

Police said it would apply the new population estimates, based on the 2011 census results, only from the 2012/13 financial period onwards.

Ericsson fires victim of violent black crime for K-word

Telecommunications firm Ericsson has fired a worker who used the word “kaffir” in a tweet.

The tweet from the account of Vivienne Basson used the word while expressing frustration over a taxi accident.

The Tweet went on to say, “These savages don’t deserve to live. They can rot in hell.”

Ericsson South Africa M.D Magnus Mchunguzi says Basson who was a sub-contractor, has breached their business ethics.

Social Networks may seem to many as lawless, but World Wide Worx Technology expert, Arthur Goldstuck says people may be prosecuted for hate speech posted online.

He also says the law on social networks applies as it would in other public spaces.

Social network leaves a pure trail of evidence as numerous people can copy it and save it for the whole world to see.

Goldstuck says once you put something up online, it can never be entirely deleted.

Basson explained on twitter what led to her offensive speech before apologising.

Knockout attacks multiply

“Knockout” attacks have been reported in several states around the country and now investigators believe three people have been attacked in our area.

Police in Lower Merion are investigating two attacks in the area, and Philadelphia detectives are investigating an attack in Northeast Philadelphia.

It’s a violent crime that in other parts of the country has proven fatal.

Videos from cities around the country show people being punched and beaten at random.

The attackers are calling their crimes a game, the goal being to knock out the victim with one punch.

Mark Cumberland is a victim of a “Knockout” assault.

“Someone asked me for a cigarette and by the time I got my hands out my pocket I was getting hit by four kids.”

He says, “It was hard seeing and I’m still having trouble breathing and swallowing.”

Cumberland was walking out of a Fox Chase pizza shop on November 11th when he was attacked.

“There’s no reason at all. I mean, I didn’t get robbed, they didn’t take nothing from me. They just beat me up.”

Lower Merion Police say suspects Samuel Hayles and Markus January were arrested on October 29th, just moments after they allegedly ambushed and beat a 63-year-old man who was walking his dog.

Lt. Frank Higgins of the Lower Merion Police says, “He punched him right in the mouth and knocked him to the ground. The victim began to scream and yell for someone to call the police.”

A neighbor of the victim, Jeri Greenfield says, “I think it’s absolutely horrible. I think this is a beautiful neighborhood and I didn’t expect anything like that here.”

An elderly man was also attacked when he was mowing his lawn outside of his home.

The suspect in that attack is still on the loose.

Bruce Myer, a neighbor of the elderly victim says, “A kid came up to him and just punching him in the mouth. He ended up laying the street with his lawnmower.”

The only apparent motive in these attacks, as in all “Knockout” attacks, is to inflict injury on a random victim.

It’s very sad that before you used to walk on the street with no worries whatsoever,” neighbor Al Ciavijo said.

The elderly victim is now using a cane and a walker to get around. He has had to undergo multiple medical procedures.

That suspect is still on the loose, as are the suspects in the Northeast Philadelphia attack. – CBS

US study: Citizens unaware of sharply rising violent crime

Fewer Americans are aware that violent crime has been on the rise in the United States for the past few years, according to a Gallup poll published on Thursday.

The poll, conducted early this month, found that 64 percent of Americans feel that crime is increasing, down from 68 percent who felt that way in 2011, the poll found. That decline came despite the fact that the rate of violent crimes including rape, robbery and assault, rose by more than one-third from 2010 to 2012, according to federal data.

“Now, with crime ticking up, Americans are slightly less likely to believe crime is getting worse than they were two years ago,” Gallup researchers wrote in the report. “This could change next year if the 2013 data reveal another increase in crime. But for now, this worrisome trend doesn’t seem to have caught Americans’ attention,” Gallup researchers wrote in the report.”

Crime not reported to the police and simple assault accounted for the majority of the increase in crime rates between 2011 and 2012, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, which publish the victimization data used by Gallup. The bureau also said that violent crimes rates increased slightly among blacks in 2012, but remained stable for whites and Hispanics.

Concerns about local crime were similarly muted, with just 41 percent of the roughly 1,000 people polled believing that crime was on the rise in their area, down from a recent high of 51 percent who believed that in 2009.

The study has a 4 point margin of error. – Reuters

US: Violent crime rises sharply, reversing trend

The violent crime rate went up 17% last year, ending a general decline in violence that began nearly 20 years ago, according to a new federal survey of crime victims in the United States.

The Justice Department’s National Crime Victimization Survey also found an 11% increase in the rate of property crimes, including household burglaries and car theft.

The survey represents a sharp departure from recent years and a preliminary report produced earlier this year by the FBI, which found that violent crime had declined by 4% during the first six months of 2011.

The final FBI Uniform Crime Report, which collects data from police departments across the country, is expected out later this month.

The victimization survey attributed the entire increase in 2011 to a 22% jump in the number of serious and simple assaults, according to the review.

Criminal justice analysts, while noting a substantial increase in assaults, said it was too early to determine whether the 2011 jump represented an anomaly or signaled a turnaround in the sustained decline in violent crime.

“I wouldn’t make much out of it,” said University of Maryland criminologist Charles Wellford. “One year does not make a trend, and these institutional measures (the Justice survey and the FBI crime report) are best at measuring trends.”

Wellford said the methodological differences between the Justice survey and the FBI reports may have some bearing on the recent survey’s findings.

Specifically, the survey does not track the crimes of homicide and arson, while the FBI report does not track simple assaults (those not involving weapons or serious injury) in its annual reviews of major crimes.

Carnegie Mellon University criminologist Alfred Blumstein suggested that because there was little or no change in other violent crimes in the survey, the surge in assaults could be due to deeper probing by survey interviewers.

He said robbery, which is one of the most likely crimes to be reported by victims, declined by 2%, according to the survey.

“I think it is too early to say what is going on exactly,” Blumstein said. “I think we should wait for the results of the (FBI report later this month). If that tracks what the survey is showing, then I would it would represent a flag that we need to investigate.”

The Justice Department said in a statement that there was “no evidence to suggest” that changes in victim interviewing tactics prompted the sudden increase in assault reports.

“The data collection process and questionnaire has been generally the same since 1993, and no substantive changes occurred during the 2010-2011 period,” the Justice statement said. – USA Today

‘It always happens to others’

South Africa may not experience tsunamis, hurricanes or devastating earthquakes, but we do experience other life-shattering tragedies such as fires, HIV/AIDS and…. violent crime! “It always happens to others!” people are wont to say … until it happens to you! A victim of a hijacking writes about his terrible ordeal.

It happened to me three years ago, on the night of 17 September 2003. I was returning home after presenting a late lecture to engineering students. I was tired. It had been raining. I was looking forward to relaxing at home with my wife and son. I stopped my car outside the gate at home and was opening the gate, when I heard a voice behind me saying: “Get back inside your car”.

I turned slowly to see a black man standing there pointing his gun at me. I looked quickly towards my house but nobody was in sight. I had no option but to obey. With that, two accomplices emerged from the shadows and forced me into the back of the car, one on either side of me.

The gun toting attacker got behind the wheel and we drove away. I had no idea where I was being taken at that time of night. I was swiftly relieved of my belongings – my wallet (with R70.00 cash in it), my gold watch, my cell phone, my wedding band,…all the while I was being sworn at, cursed at. I remained calm, knowing that God had His hand on me.

I told them to drop me on the side of the road telling them they could have my car. In reply I was told they did not want my car, only money! As we drove on they forced me to lie down on the seat so that I could not be seen and put a dirty cap over my face so I could not see where I was being taken. I just prayed: “God confound them.” This happened, as they soon lost their way and had to stop and ask directions; but I was not afforded an opportunity for escape. I did manage to see some lights as we drove along and I recognised the route they were taking. I had no idea what to expect next.

After another ten kilometers or so, they turned into a smaller road and finally down a steep, rough track into a clearing and there I was accosted by the gun-wielding man who demanded to know where my laptop was. I had been doing research for an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and had left some discs on the back seat. They were now in disarray as I had been forced to lie down on them during the highjacking journey. While trying to explain that I did not possess one, the man punched me in the face and repeated his demand. He then threw me down onto the ground outside the car and tried to kick me in the face with his boot. I caught his foot and protected my face but he then started shooting, pumping four bullets into my left leg and two into my right thigh. He pulled the trigger once more but the gun just went “click”. As he walked away from the car, I decided to try and escape. I could not use my legs – they were simply not responding – so I decided to roll away. I rolled off the edge of the clearing and down the steep slope for about 30 meters through long weeds and muddy ground full of stones and roots. I decide to lie there with my head down so that blood would stay in my head. There was a street lamp nearby. In the dim light I could see the bullet wounds in my legs and the blood oozing from them. I lay on my back looking up at the stars thinking, “Nobody even knows where I am – Am I going to die like this?” I prayed to God saying I was totally in His hands. It was now up to Him.

After lying there for about ten minutes, I spotted a young African boy walking along a nearby path. I called out to him in Zulu asking him to phone the police, get an ambulance and phone my wife to let her know what had happened to me. He said he would call his mother to help me – it turned out that she was a qualified home nurse! She arrived soon after, equipped with rubber gloves and a first aid kit. She took off my shoes and asked permission to remove my long pants, quite blood-stained by now. There was no time to feel embarrassed so I said, “Go ahead”. She cleaned my wounds and slowed the bleeding. With that an African man appeared and said: “Do not be afraid. I am here to help you.” By now my legs were shaking uncontrollably. He then left and returned with a sleeping bag which he placed over me to keep me warm. He placed his jacket under my head then returned home to phone the local police.

They were reluctant to come and investigate so he became angry and phoned his white boss, whom he knew “would make a plan”. His boss (who did not even know me) threatened the police and demanded that I be attended to. Within fifteen minutes there were four police vehicles at the scene. One of the policemen phoned my wife telling her I had been shot several times and that I would be taken to Crompton Hospital. My wife made two phone calls and by the time I arrived there were thirty family, friends and church members waiting. Even in the state I was in, I was emotionally moved and touched by this overwhelming support.

I was wheeled into Emergency, given an x-ray and, not needing surgery, was taken to a ward where my blood was tested. My veins had collapsed and they had to take arterial blood to establish my blood type. I needed two and a half pints of replacement blood. I overheard the nurses talking and saying that I probably would not live – then the doctor commenting that I was strong and would pull through. A day later I was well enough to move to a normal ward – one of the many miracles to follow. My left leg was in plaster from top to toe with a small window cut in the plaster to enable the dressing of my wound to be changed regularly. Two days later I was visited by Nickolas Ntanjana (who covered me with the sleeping bag) and his boss, Bruce Dickson, and that is when I heard their side of the story (about the calls to the police).

I was back home and recuperating in the company of my loving and very supportive family. I was off work for the rest of the year. This led to some serious financial losses as I received no compensation from either the Road Accident Fund nor from Workman’s Compensation.

I lost tens of thousands of rands due to not being able to give extra lectures. There is no fund to cover one in the event of a highjacking. A case of attempted murder was opened by the local police but to date no arrests have been reported. It is sad that criminals and the syndicates supporting them, can just force themselves into your life, violently ruin it and get away with it. Governments who pride themselves on removing the death penalty will have to answer to God as to why they have subjected their law-abiding citizens to the death penalty instead! Not only do you and your immediate family suffer but also the community that you serve – there are vast, rippling (negative) effects. Medical expenses, counselling (by psychologists or psychiatrists), protracted battles with insurance companies or debtors, security measures to be upgraded, etc. I have lost my ability to concentrate for extended periods on technical type work and hence have had to give up my research. I was determined not to become a victim and was elected as chairman of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers, KwaZulu Natal Branch, last year. Nevertheless my reserves of energy have become limited. I suppose being over the age of fifty also contributes to this.

I would like to emphasise that having been through a traumatic, near death experience, it gives one a new set of values. One of these is the importance of communicating appreciation and love to those around you. Say it and say it often. Love is the only thing I know that grows as you give it away! Life is really very temporal and fragile. Live it by loving those close to you.

HOW TO AVOID A HIJACK SITUATION

80% of hijackings take place in home driveways. Check your driveway and street before you leave or enter your premises. Be on the look out for suspicious vehicles/persons.
Always be cautious and aware of surrounding obstructions and shrubbery that may conceal a hijacker.
At road junctions, leave enough space between your car and the one ahead of you to allow you to escape.
If a car has driven into the rear of your car, and the impact is fairly light, wave to the driver to follow you to somewhere safe to trade necessary information.
When approaching your vehicle, always have your keys ready but not visible. Be aware of your surroundings & if you notice any suspicious behaviour immediately walk away from your car towards a safe area.
When approaching a red traffic light at night, slow down so that you only reach it when it turns green.
Do not stand by your car if you are waiting for somebody & never sit in your parked vehicle without being aware of your surroundings.
Once in the car, lock all your doors & leave your window only partially open. Keep any valuables, briefcase, handbag & cell phone out of sight.
If you suspect you are being followed, take a different route home. If you still think you are being followed, drive to the nearest police station. Do not stop your car for any reason as this will give your pursuer the ideal opportunity to hijack your vehicle.
Avoid driving through high crime or unfamiliar areas as well as late at night/early hours of the morning when the roads are quiet.
Drive in the centre lane away from pedestrians where possible.
When you are a victim of a car-hijacking, don’t put up a fight. Do exactly as told by the hijackers. Do not reach for your purse or valuables.
Gather as much information as possible without posing a threat.