The police budget is smaller than spending on private security
'There is R75-billion being spent [by] South Africans so that they can feel safe. Is this too much or too little money? Is it being optimally deployed?'
As trust in the police plummets, South Africans are spending more of their own money than the entire police budget to protect themselves from crime. Releasing the Victims of Crime Survey yesterday, Pali Lehohla, the statistician-general, said that the last time it had been checked the police budget was R30-billion and the public was spending about R45-billion to protect itself. "There is R75-billion being spent [by] South Africans so that they can feel safe. Is this too much or too little money? Is it being optimally deployed?" asked Lehohla. According to the survey, about 50% of households take physical protection measures at home to protect themselves from crime. About 11.4% of households employ private security services and 5.5% of people now carry a weapon to protect themselves - compared to 5.1% in 2011. Gauteng had the highest percentage (7.4%) of households with inhabitants who carried weapons as a protection measure with the Western Cape polling 7.2%. The number of residence...
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