If you are living in South Africa you will know that almost all of us has been affected by crime at some point in our lives. Wether it be arriving home or at your office to discover an intrusion, hearing about it in the news or via family or friends who have been directly affected.
It is a common misconception that the police, neighbourhood watches and private security companies are on top of crime trends in their designated areas, especially since we see so many incidents being reported in the news and via social media.
However, simply because an incident of a mugging, house break-in or car theft is reported on a community Whatsapp group, neighbourhood watch chat or public forum does not make it a reported crime. Their only purpose then is to raise awareness and we believe that more needs to be done to curb crime.
Victims of crime should realise It is vital they report the incident to the police so that it can be logged as a crime stat and action can be taken if the same perpetrator or group of perpetrators targets a specific area.
Crime statistics help the police strategize and allocate the appropriate resources to suburbs, in conjunction with neighbourhood watches, private security companies and other stakeholders, to protect lives by better managing crime and curbing trends.
Crime needs to be reported so that criminals can be apprehended and dealt with in the justice system, or we run the risk of them progressing to more serious crimes before they are caught.
At B & L Services we believe that prevention is better than cure and we take care of many security systems for our clients – ensuring their servicing is done on time and assisting after an incident to prepare security system reports for insurance purposes.
No crime is too small to be reported and every one of us can play a role in helping to stop crime reporting on time.