South Africans have a grim view of Governments handling of crime

The South African public has a relatively high level of trust in the activities of the Scorpions; almost six in every ten (58%) agree that they trust the Scorpions. A similar proportion (56%) agree with the way in which the Scorpions handle high profile corruption investigations.

However, when it comes to government's crime fighting efforts in general, a November 2006 public opinion survey shows a significant drop in confidence, after two years during which there was an increase in the belief that our government is slowly making progress in the battle against crime.

Markinor's bi-annual Government Performance Barometer, the last phase of which was conducted in November 2006, revealed that only four in every ten adult South Africans think that the government does enough to reduce crime.

These results are published shortly after Pres. Thabo Mbeki made his annual statement as leader of the ANC. In the January 8 statement the President acknowledged the negative impact of crime on the South African community and highlighted the fight against violent crime as a priority for the year. However, the public does not necessarily agree with the Presidents statement on January 15, that crime is not out of hand.

The importance of visible policing in crime fighting efforts is emphasised quite often. Although this survey did not look at the level of trust and confidence in the national police service, about six in every ten (62%) South Africans agree that the government is doing very or fairly well in bringing the police service closer to the communities where they serve.

A total sample of 3 500 adults were interviewed and all interviews were done face-to-face to ensure that no bias is created by using an interviewing medium such as telephones or the internet. Randomly selected South Africans from all walks of life and living all over the country were interviewed, making the sample nationally representative. Markinors Government Performance Barometer probed 23 policy delivery areas; respondents had to indicate whether the government handles these particular issues very well, fairly well, not very well or not well at all. Other issues, like views on the Scorpions, were also tested in the survey.

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