Crime stats: More women and children murdered between April and June 2023.

By Lehlohonolo Lehana.

There has been a decrease in the murder and sexual offences rate in the crime stats for the last quarter, which runs from April to June 2023.

South African Police Service (SAPS) briefed Parliament on Friday morning on the latest statistics, which revealed a 3.1% decrease in the murder rate between April and June this year.

Police minister Bheki Cele has presented the latest crime statistics for South Africa, covering the first quarter of the 2023/24 administrative year.

The latest statistics show contact crimes (against the person) increased during the quarter except murder and sexual offences, which saw a marginal decrease of 3.1% and 2% respectively.

A total of 6,228 murder cases were reported, down from 6,424 during the same period last year, while sexual offences cases came in at 11,616, down from 11,855. 

The contact crimes category with the highest increase was assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH), which went up to 37, 491 from 34,635. This was followed by common robbery, which came in at 11,404 from 10,565.

In the sexual offences category, rape dropped by 2.8% with 9,252 cases registered, down from 9,516 during the same period in 2022. Sexual assault and contact sexual offences also decreased.

Attempted sexual assault was the only subcategory to see an increase, with 510 cases reported, from 416. This marked a 22.6% increase.

In crimes against women, the statistics show murder cases went up by 4.7%. This means 40 more women were murdered, up from 855. Attempted murders also saw a significant increase, with 238 more cases registered, from 1,179 — a 20.2% increase. Assault GBH cases clocked in at 12,872 from 11,734 — a 9.7% increase.

Murders of children increased by 20.6%, with 293 children murdered, up from 243 during the same period last year. This translates to 50 more children killed over a three-month period.

Attempted murders increased by 15.3%, with 354 cases registered from 307 in the same period last year, while assault GBH against children dropped by 6%. This is a decrease to 1,432 from 1,524 cases.

Cele said the stats reflect that the police are turning the tide on crime, and the trend should continue.

“(Since the start of the period) we have arrested over 70,000 people, excluding this last weekend,” he said.

The minister said those arrested are the “people that we want” – those with an outstanding warrant of arrest, mostly related to serious crimes like murder, rape and hijacking.

However, he said there is growing concern about the number of foreign nationals in the country illegally linked to these crimes.

These criminals are effectively untraceable, the minister said, as their fingerprints and DNA are not recorded or linked to local databases. He said the police service is improving in this area, and positive trends should continue.

Cele added that the effects of more active policing are already being seen, with the department’s goal of “sanitising the weekend” bearing fruit. He said that the busiest times for crime have now moved from Saturday and Sunday to Monday and Wednesday, although Saturday is still a popular time for criminal activity.

He added that the ultimate goal is to ensure there is no day or time for crime in South Africa.

DA MP Andrew Whitfield highlighted that there had been a police killing once every three days in the last quarter.

Whitfield said authorities need to acknowledge there is “an attack on the state from violent criminals and, obviously, on the citizens of the country”.

ACDP leader Kenneth Meshoe was also concerned about the increase in police murders and said Whitfield was correct that “we live in a country where lawlessness is becoming the norm”.

IFP MP Zandile Majozi said the police murders were “very alarming”. She and Meshoe wanted to know the cause of the murders and where they had taken place.

National police commissioner Fannie Masemola said the motive for police killings varied as some were killed while off duty and others when they were on duty.

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