By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Police Minister General Bheki Cele says there has been another increase in murder cases — showing that 6 289 murders were reported. This equated to nearly 70 people murdered a day, down from 82 a day in the preceding three months, when 7 555 people were killed.
But, on an annualised basis, the murder rate rose by 3.4% compared with the first three months of last year, although Cele said during the media briefing in Cape Town that this was “the lowest single digit decrease recorded”.
“Though it is a decrease, these are not just figures but human lives that should be protected at all costs,” He added.
“The majority of the killings took place in the Kwa Zulu-Natal, Western Cape and Gauteng provinces with arguments, vigilantism, and robberies topping the motive list for murder. The Kwa Zulu-Natal province also reported the highest figures of multiple-murder cases, followed by the Eastern Cape with 206 and 155 victims respectively,” Cele said.
“The Free State, Northern Cape, and Western Cape provinces recorded decreases in murder figures with both the Western Cape and Northern Cape reporting a double-digit decrease in murder cases.”
Cele welcomed the decrease in the Western Cape’s reported murders, attributing this to law enforcement targeting hotspots such as the Cape Flats.
The minister said, though still in its infancy, the nationwide rollout of Operation Shanela; which is the national rollout of Gauteng’s five-year-old Operation O Kae Molao; aims to curb crime by increasing resources and putting more boots on the ground.
“To address murder and other contact crimes, R65 million has been allocated to the Top 30 crime-heavy stations to address murder and other contact crimes. Over and above this additional funding, we are responding directly to calls by communities to increase the capability and training of the Tactical Response Teams.”
Nearly R2 billion has been set aside for the procurement of more police vehicles to improve police visibility.
CIT Robberies increases
Cele has shared his frustration at the “stubborn increase” in cash-in-transit (CIT) robberies, with 64 incidents reported between January and March 2023.
He said 35 of the heists happened while the vehicles were on the road, 25 were cross pavement incidents, three in retail and one while the vehicle was stationary.
Gauteng led the pack in the first three categories.
CIT robberies saw the only increase in the contact-related crimes category, which saw a 2% overall decrease. The stats revealed 28,974 incidents were reported between January and March this year, 585 fewer than the same period last year.
The biggest drop was in arson, with 113 fewer cases reported from 910. This translated into a 12.4% decrease.
This was followed by truck hijackings, with 435 cases reported in the first three months of the year. This is 30 fewer cases from the same period last year or a 6.5% decrease.
Slight decrease in rape case
The minister said rape cases have shown a decrease from 1 January 2023 to 31 March 2023, with six provinces reporting less rape cases.
The statistics show that rape decreased by 306 cases; sexual assault decreased by 322; attempted sexual offences increased by 116, and contact sexual offences decreased by 82.
“The decline in rape cases is attributed to, among other things, the South African Police Service (SAPS) upscaling its operations to trace gender-based violence (GBV) perpetrators, arresting serial sex offenders and rapists, and ongoing men dialogues with communities.
“It remains concerning that 10 512 people were raped in the first three months of this year. A total of 4 768 of the rape incidents took place at the home of the victim or at the home of the perpetrator,” Cele said at a media briefing in Cape Town.
Crime against children
Between January and March this year, less children were killed in South Africa compared to the same period last year.
“One child murder is one too many and the SAPS must strive for zero tolerance on the murder of children. Child murders decreased by almost 20% (19.9%), and a slight decrease was also noted in assault with grievous bodily harm (GBH) cases of children.
“Sadly and alarmingly, 29 more children were victims of attempted murder compared to the same period last year. A total of 360 more attempted murder cases were registered and investigated by the SAPS involving minors,” the Minister said.
He said a double-digit percentage increase of 21.5% was recorded in attempted murder figures for the fourth quarter.
“This means there were 1 485 attempted murders of women in South Africa in the first three months of this year. A total of 969 women were killed in the same period and over 15 000 women were assaulted, and the SAPS are investigating assault GBH cases, “the Minister said.