World Cup kicks violent South African crime into touch

Falling crime in Johannesburg brings call to sustain costly police presence after football fans go home

Sceptics predicted the World Cup would be a boom time for criminals in South Africa. In fact, the football appears to have led to a dramatic fall in violent offences.

A report by ADT, a private security firm, said crime was down by 70% in western Johannesburg, while the east of the city saw a 60% decline in the past month.

No official police figures are yet available, but the findings support anecdotal evidence that the World Cup has reduced crime.

Only 100 people have been found guilty of offences related to the tournament in special courts, where staff have spent many hours idle. There have been no murders or stabbings despite international fears about the event.

It also appears that more conventional crimes, such as house break-ins, have dropped because of visible policing, ADT said.

"We've seen a significant reduction of crime, especially violent crime, right across the Pretoria area," said Clive Humphrey, managing director of ADT in South Africa's northern region. "Burglaries are also down in Pretoria.

"We definitely attribute it to the high police presence and the visibility of the police forces."

Humphrey noted that crime tends to fall slightly in South Africa's winter months, but this was not significant enough to explain the current trend.

Facing unprecedented global attention, South Africa dedicated more than 40,000 police officers to World Cup security. But many have been paid overtime, which will be unsustainable in the long term.

Humphrey called on the government to consolidate the gains. "We're just desperately hopeful the levels of policing to sustain the visibility can be maintained. If they don't, we all fear crime will return to the levels we saw before the World Cup."

South Africa has one of the world's highest crime rates with an average of 50 murders per day. There have been some high profile incidents during the World Cup, with hotel staff arrested for stealing and foreign journalists targeted by muggers. Portuguese journalist Antonio Fimoes had a gun held to his head by robbers who broke into his hotel room.

Punishments have also been swift and decisive and, some argue, too harsh to be sustainable. A man who stole a mobile phone from an Argentinian fan was jailed for five years – prompting an appeal from the victim for leniency.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/09/world-cup-football-south-africa-crime-falls