South African Crime Stats 2017-2018

There were 55 murders, 109 rapes, 137 sexual offences, 878 assaults, 44 carjackings, and 819 burglaries every day in South Africa in the 2017 to 2018 year - and at least 5 farm murders every month, according to official figures released by the South African Police Services (SAPS).

The Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU), one of the country’s larger farmer unions representing white farmers, issued a statement saying that “according to the SA Police Service 62 murders were committed on agricultural properties during the last financial year.

“However, the TAU SA data base reflects a figure of 70 which implies a slightly more than 10 percent higher figure than the official statistics. This difference and the necessity to speak with one voice on a topic which is increasingly receiving international interest, demands to be consolidated.”
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I have previously written that South Africans Live in a Dangerous Gated World (Home Security in S.A.).

I also recommend watching FARMLANDS (2018) Official Documentary if you have an interest in South Africa.

Breaking Padlocks - The REAL Double Wrench Method

Recently I have been highlighting YouTube videos from 'Lock Picking Lawyer' that demonstrate tools to quickly and quietly defeat locks. In his most recent video, he demonstrates a more effective way to break padlocks using the double wrench technique.

Breaking Padlocks - The REAL Double Wrench Method


Most common locks are not secure against force directed against the lock itself. When using locks to protect your property it is important to be aware of how those locks may be defeated.

Other videos I have recently highlighted on breaking locks include:

Using An Exhaust Manifold Spreader to Defeat Locks

Cutting Bicycle Cable Locks is EASY!

 

JCSO Deputy Fired; 263 Cases Under Review for Planted Evidence

According to the Jackson County Floridian (September 20, 2018), suspected misconduct by former Jackson County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Zachary Wester, fired from his job on Sept. 10, has led State Attorney Glenn Hess to file for the vacating of pleas and subsequent sentencing in six criminal cases, and dismissal of at least 41 pending cases in which Wester was a primary witness.  Other dismissals could follow — there are 263 cases in which Wester was involved this year, at varying levels, and all of those are being reviewed. At least one of those in which he was involved has already been through court, with the defendant’s plea and sentence set aside by a judge this Wednesday.

FDLE is conducting an internal investigation into Wester’s activities on behalf of Jackson County Sheriff Lou Roberts. That probe was triggered after allegations against Wester came to light. Hess said people in his office as well as defense attorneys had come to him with concerns.

Hess said Thursday that he’d seen a single video — but there are others to review — that led him to believe, in at least one case, Wester planted a packet of methamphetamine in the vehicle of a woman he’d pulled over. The woman denied that the methamphetamine was hers. Hess has filled to have that case dropped based on his review of the video’s content.
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This type of misconduct on the part of police officers is rare, but it doesn't mean that it can never happen - as we see in this case. Even if a police officer doesn't plant evidence, a department can structure an investigation to make it point to whomever it wishes.

Never consent to a search of your vehicle, property, or person.  

A Law Professor Explains Why You Should Never Talk to Police.

Father Shot 2 Police Officers Who Mistakenly Served Warrant at His Home

NBC 4 Washington, (September 20, 2018) reported that a man protecting his daughter from what he thought was a home invasion shot two police officers who mistakenly entered his apartment in District Heights, Maryland, Prince George's County's police chief says.

The officers and their nine-member special operations team went to the complex in the 2700 block of Lorring Drive to serve a warrant about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. A confidential informant told police a drug dealer lived there, but the resident was actually a father who didn't know officers were trying to get in his home.

The team knocked on the door of the top-level unit and announced they were there, but no one answered. Despite the silence, the team had a feeling someone might be inside the apartment, so they used a device to open the door, according to police.

Inside the apartment, they found the father armed with a shotgun. Police say the man fired a single shot when the door opened, striking two officers.

Another officer returned fire, but no one was hit.

The officers were flown to a shock trauma center in Baltimore.
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It's 10:30 PM and you've fallen asleep while watching TV. Suddenly your door is battered open and armed men rush into your home... what would you do?

The Prince George's County's Police Chief seems to think that the father in this case was within his rights to shoot the people breaking into his home - even though those people were the police. Although the NBC 4 report doesn't specifically say, we might assume that the police were not wearing normal police uniforms (?)

This raises the question, do citizens have a right under the law to resist with force an unlawful arrest by police or actions taken by police with a defective warrant?

Cody Wilson, the Man Behind 3D Printed Guns, Arrested for Sex With a Minor

Authorities in Taiwan arrested the owner of a Texas company that sells plans to make untraceable 3-D printed guns who is wanted in the U.S. over an accusation that he had sex with an underage girl and paid her $500 afterward, official media reported.

Police in Austin, Texas, had earlier reported that Wilson's last known location was Taipei.
Austin police Cmdr. Troy Officer said Wednesday that before Wilson flew to Taiwan, a friend of the 16-year-old girl had told him that police were investigating the accusation that he had sex with the youth.

In a court filing this week, Wilson was accused of having sex with the girl at an Austin hotel last month. A counselor for the teenager reported the accusation to Austin police a week later, according to the affidavit. Wilson met the girl through the website SugarDaddyMeet.com, where she had created an online profile, according to the document.

The girl, according to the affidavit, said they met in the parking lot of an Austin coffee shop before they drove to the hotel. The girl told investigators that Wilson paid her $500 after they had sex and then dropped her off at a Whataburger restaurant.

Wilson is identified in the affidavit as the owner of Austin-based Defense Distributed. After a federal court barred Wilson from posting the printable gun blueprints online for free last month, he announced he had begun selling them for any amount of money to U.S. customers through his website.  (KOMO 4 News, September 21, 2018)
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Well this is curious. Allegations of sexual assault suddenly appearing when the government is losing its battle to keep 3-D printed gun plans from being made available to the public. It's almost like the government just made up these charges to gain leverage over Mr. Wilson?

Is it possible that the government would open an investigation based on unfounded allegations? Do police officers plant evidence? Or, did Mr. Wilson pay an underage girl $500 for sex?

Video Warns of New Cartel Violence on Texas-Mexico Border

JUAREZ, Mexico (Fox San Antonio, September 17, 2018) - A video that has gone viral within the past two weeks warns of an escalation in violence along the Texas-Mexico border. The video which claims to be done by the “Artistas Asesinos” and warns of another faction of the Sinaloa Cartel that they will shed blood to control the major drug pipeline that is Juarez.

According to Mexican officials, the video is no joke as they are investigating deaths with the groups modus operandi.

The month of August, 2018 was the deadliest in Juarez so far with 182 homicides tied to the cartel war that uses the streets of Juarez, according to authorities, as a war zone.
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* Ciudad Juárez is a Mexican city on the Rio Grande, approximately 10 miles south of El Paso, Texas.

Cartel activities aren't limited to Juarez. A report from February 2018 stated, a Cartel drug distributor, met up with an undercover Washington State police officer to do a drug and weapon exchange. Cartel members were caught and arrested in an auto repair shop near Everett’s Evergreen Way. The Sinaloa Cartel is involved in exchanging massive amounts of guns, drugs and cash. Many times these exchanges and meetings can become extremely violent. The cartel has been distributing drugs in the Snohomish, King, Whatcom, Yakima and Franklin counties. During a raid officials seized eight more pounds of cocaine, two pounds of heroin, eighteen pounds of meth, and over 20 guns (some of military class). The cost of the contraband seized totals over three hundred thousand dollars.

 

 

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Tacoma Woman Found Shot Dead on JBLM, FBI says

According to the Tacoma News Tribune (September 20, 2018) the FBI is investigating the death of a Tacoma woman who was found dead on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, a bureau spokeswoman said Thursday evening.

The body of Jessica Jackson, 34, was found on the base Sept. 13, FBI spokeswoman Jillian Voigt said.

Pierce County medical examiners found that Jackson died of multiple gunshot wounds to the head and ruled her death a homicide.

The FBI declined to give further details about Jackson’s death, citing an ongoing investigation.
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The FBI is trying to find whoever killed a Tacoma single mother and left her body on Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The remains of Jessica Jackson were found on September 13, but word is just getting out a full week later.

"She has a daughter and she left a lot of family," said friend Cecelia Rivero.
Rivero reported Jackson missing on September 4. Her body was found on the Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) training grounds in Spanaway.

It is not yet known when she was killed or where. Her friends believe she was murdered somewhere out in the county and then placed at JBLM.  (KOMO 4 News, September 20, 2018)
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