Crime reporting sites just what SA needs

With the appointment of a new National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele, the debates around crime stats which were raised during the 2009 elections, have resurfaced once again. His arguments about a moratorium on crime stats have provoked plenty of criticism in a country with one of the highest crime rates in the world.

Added to this is the recent crime stats scam exposed which alleges that police had been burning dockets in batches as well as capturing the crimes at a lesser charge. What's become apparent is that the very people who we depend on to protect us, and to curb crime, are the very people who are committing crime. Now, while not all police should be tarnished with the same brush, and there are many outstanding policemen and policewomen out there, it is still no consolation to those victims, be they of robbery, rape and murder, who will never receive justice. Crime stats are of huge importance, especially to the police, and to dismiss them, or argue for a moratorium tells us a lot about the committment to fighting crime.

In the States, however, it is a completely different case altogether, with crime stats and police reports being easily accessible by the public. All this information is available on crimereporting websites. A few examples of these are Spotcrime, Sanfrancisco Crimespotting and EveryBlock Chicago. These sites feature interactive maps with information on the types of crimes,reports and stats, albeit a few days old.

Crimereporting websites like these have an important role to play for an informed citizenry, and can empower communities even further to take steps in curbing crime. In South Africa there are already a number of structures created by communities such as the neighbourhood watch and other Community Policing Forums. Crimereporting websites can provide vital information on crime trends and stats in areas, and locals and tourists can be aware of crime hotspots and avoid them accordingly. People can also be encouraged to post their reported crimes on the website, and in this way, warning each other as well as keeping tabs on the police's performance in fighting crime. In terms of crimereporting in social media, we've already seen a similar integration in twitter.

From a different perspective, we would also be able to approximate the actual levels of crime versus perceived levels of crime. If and when we are allowed to see the Ministry of Police's crimestats, we can compare this to the reports aggregated by citizens. Again, we can't forget the disparities in terms of the digital divide, and the majority of South Africans who have limited or no access to the internet, but if Jacob Zuma is to be believed about ICT rollouts and rural development, and the supposed cheaper broadbrand via the new cables, this should soon not be as big a hurdle as before.

If an online platform can play a role in disseminating information about crime to the public, South Africa is the one country where it is needed the most.