By Katare Mbashiru,The Citizen
Posted Thursday, October 24 2013 at 08:50
Posted Thursday, October 24 2013 at 08:50
In Summary
Only 42 percent of victims of crime in
2011-2012 reported the attacks to police. The Repoa executive director,
Prof Samwel Wangwe, said Tanzania’s self-reported crimes rates were
relatively low in comparison with the other 33 African countries
surveyed.
Dar es Salaam. A higher number
of Tanzanians have experienced crime in comparison to those in 33 other
African countries, according to a new survey.
The safety of the people and their property has
weakened over the years, overtaking South Africa--which has topped the
list in the past. It is the first time that the country has earned that
dubious “honour”. The survey was conducted by Afrobarometer, a research
project that measures public attitudes on economic, political, and
social matters in sub-Saharan Africa.
Yesterday’s report was the fifth in the
Afrobarometer series and was released in Dar es Salaam by Policy
Research for Development (Repoa) at a media briefing. Repoa Researcher
Rose Aiko said Tanzanians had little enthusiasm for reporting crime and
seeking police assistance when they were victims of crime.
The research, conducted between May and June 2012,
is part of an analysis dubbed “Experience of Crime, Crime reporting and
readiness to seek police assistance”. It focused on two kinds of
crimes--theft in homes and physical attacks--and 2,400 adults were
surveyed in Tanzania.
Only 42 percent of victims of crime in 2011-2012
reported the attacks to police. The Repoa executive director, Prof
Samwel Wangwe, said Tanzania’s self-reported crimes rates were
relatively low in comparison with the other 33 African countries
surveyed.
Although women are more likely to fall victim to
the two crimes, the findings indicate that women report less to police
stations, said Repoa Assistant Researcher Abel Kinyondo. Tanzanians are
more likely to report theft than physical assault. They are also likely
to turn out in low numbers at police stations should they encounter
crime. This, according to Mr Kiyondo, is driven by the fact that there
are few police stations. And where there are police stations, the
officers reportedly do not care to listen to those who want to make a
report.
They people are also wary of unscrupulous police
officers who demand bribes in order to help and they feel more
comfortable reporting crime-related incidents to other authorities. The
findings also place Tanzania among the countries with the fewest police
stations.
The top five countries that recorded the best
performance on people’s safety in the survey are Mauritius, Niger,
Algeria, Ghana and Benin, while the worst countries from the bottom are
Tanzania, South Africa, Cameroon, Liberia and Swaziland.
Commenting on the findings, Assistant head of
planning and budgeting at the police headquarters Beatus Silla said:
“This survey will help us tighten the gaps that have been pointed out in
the Afrobarometer report.”
He added that the police had made remarkable
progress towards curbing crimes as part of police reforms programme that
Inspector General of Police Said Mwema initiated in 2006.
The reforms were grouped in three
categories--community policing, modernisation and professionalism. His
sentiments were echoed by University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) Senior
Lecturer Haji Semboja, who said Tanzania’s crime rate had dropped
drastically since President Jakaya Kikwete came to power in 2005.
SOURCE: THE CITIZEN
SOURCE: THE CITIZEN
