A losing battle? Assessing the detection rate of commercial crime

Abstract

The South African Police Service (SAPS) struggles to protect victims from commercial crime that threatens the economy, corrodes scarce and valuable resources, and inhibits growth and development. Official SAPS statistics show that the annual detection rate in respect of reported fraud cases was 35.77% in 2014/15 and 34.08% in 2015/16. Although the detection rates for serious commercial crime are reported as 94.8% for 2014/15 and 96.75% for 2015/16, it is likely that these figures are inaccurate and, in reality, much lower. This article provides an overview of the reported incidence of commercial crime, assesses the detection rate reported by the SAPS, and seeks to determine how it can be improved.