By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The number of murder and rape cases reported in the country continues to be of concern, with the latest quarterly crime statistics reflecting an increase in the crimes between October and December 2022.
Police Minister Bheki Cele said that the statistics don’t paint an overall positive picture of the crime situation in South Africa.
At the release of the crime stats for Q3 2022, Cele said that 7,555 murders were recorded during the period – marking a 10% increase year on year (y-o-y).
Sexual offences also increased by 9.6% – rising from 14,188 to 15,545. Rape (9.8%), sexual assault (4.1%) and attempted sexual offences (45.6%) also increased.
Attempted crime saw the largest y-o-y increase – rising by 24.3% to 7,016 cases.
Common robbery (21.2%), common assault (12.0%), assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm (8.7%), and robbery with aggravated circumstances (10.8%) all increased y-o-y.
Overall, the total number of contact crimes increased by 19,067 (11.6%) from Q3 2021 to Q3 2022.
Although the crime stats show worrying increases, Cele said that the department is pushing back against criminality, and there has been a significant improvement in the number of crimes detected across South Africa.
For example, there was a slight decrease in the number of cash-in-transit heists (-5%), and bank robberies (5 counts lower). The South African Police Service (SAPS) said that the reduction in these crimes was due to greater police visibility through patrols, stop-and-search operations, roadblocks, and vehicle checkpoints.
Overall, the police arrested 52,711 people during the festive period.
The police also got rid of officers who partnered with criminal elements, with 46 fired for various transgressions.
Cele added that the “police are also on the pulse in removing illegal weapons off our streets,” with 65,519 firearms removed and destroyed during the period.
Out of the 7,555 murders recorded during the period, 3,144 people were with a firearm.
Despite admitting that gun violence in South Africa is an issue, Cele said that firearms are only part of a bigger problem.
“High rates of unemployment and poverty levels, the mushrooming of informal settlements with little to no services and other socio-economic ills are breeding criminality, coupled by a high number of undocumented foreign nationals, that are hard to trace after the commission of a crime, ” he said.
However, the minister said that numerous interventions are being introduced to address the issue.
Video Courtesy of SAPS.