Police Minister General Bheki Cele faced a security-conscious nation with some startling statistics on South Africa’s scary crime wave when he released the first quarter of the Crime Statistics eor 2022/2023 in Pretoria, Gauteng, last Friday.
The stats reflected crimes that were reported to the South African Police Service from April to June in 2022. These figures are compared to the same period last year, especially when SA was placed under a stringent lockdown level 1 and 2 following the worldwide outbreak of the deadly Covid-19 virus.
Focusing on sexual violence offences, the minister reported: “The first quarter of the 2022/2023 financial year, shows decreases in total sexual offences such as rape, sexual assault, attempted sexual offences and contact sexual offences.’’
‘’This means there was a drop of over 800 cases of sexual offences that are far more often, perpetrated on women. 9 516 rape cases were opened with SAPS, between April and June 2022.
‘’This is almost 500 less rape cases reported, compared to the same period last year. 3 780 of the rapes took place in the homes of the rapists or homes of the victims. 1 546 people were raped in public places such as streets, parks and beaches. Between April and June this year, 286 rapists were convicted through investigative work done by the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit.’’
‘’The FCS unit of the SAPS investigates crimes committed against women and children and vulnerable groups. Out of the 286 rape convictions, 46 of the rapists were sentenced to life behind bars.”
Under murder statistics, the minister said he had highlighted some successes that have been achieved by the SAPS during the reporting period: “However, the number of murders in this country remains high and worrisome. 6,424 people were killed by other persons in South Africa in the first quarter of 2022/2023 financial year.
“This is an increase of 664 more people murdered, compared to the same period last year, when the country was placed under lockdown level one and two. The three main causes for murders remain arguments and misunderstandings. Retaliations and revenge murders were second motive for murder and vigilantism was the third most likely cause of murder in South Africa.”
In terms of police killings, Cele said: “Fighting crime has also come at a cost for members of the SAPS across the country. 18 police officers were killed during this reporting period. 13 less police officers were killed during this reporting period. Firearms are three times likely to be the weapon of choice in all the reported murders, 2 766 people were shot to death. 912 of KwaZulu-Natal murders were as a result of firearms followed by the Gauteng Province with 697 deaths attributed to firearms.”
The minister said visits to police stations conducted by police ministry remained an integral part of police work to improve service delivery at station level. He said by visiting every police station, he noticed that the availability of liquor in many communities would always be a common factor. ‘’The fact is the more liquor outlets there are in a community, cases of contact crimes will be very high. We cannot accept as a nation that 227 people between April and June 2022 were killed in places of entertainment such as taverns, pubs and bars. In 749 murder cases, liquor was involved. The reality is that liquor was, during this reporting period, involved in over 4,000 cases of assault GBH. In 1,212 rape cases, alcohol was involved during the commission of the crime.”
“We urge communities, civil society, religious organisations and various community organisations to look at addressing the role liquor are playing in communities and as a crime contributor. Such conversations combined with awareness programs and action by the SAPS, are important and do lead to prevention of many violent crimes.”
Tongaat CPF Chairperson, Nazir Sadack said in relation to the ministers speech overall crime statistics in Tongaat are generally low. “In specific GBV offences are low. Due to the victim support empowerment centre based at the Tongaat police station, these members hold a lot of awareness programmes in affected areas which assist in bringing these statistics down, unlike in a few neighbouring areas where GBV statistics are considerably higher. In terms of murder, although there are a few incidences, Tongaat isn’t as high as some of the other areas. However when we look at alcohol abuse, incidences at taverns and under age drinking, that is becoming a concern. We are picking up a few cases of underage drinking at schools but it isn’t too alarming to call an ‘issue’ at this point.”
According to the SAPS statistics, in terms of murder the Verulam police station ranked 17 and recorded 42 murders from the period of April to June 2022. This is an increase of 21 from the same period last year. Verulam station also ranked 28 for kidnapping and recorded 25 cases for the period of April to June 2022. An increase of 6 from the same period last year.
In his closing remarks Sadack said: “I am urging all residents to ensure every incident of crime is reported. We find that only serious crimes are reported, however when petty crime is reported it helps the police find patterns and make break throughs in catching those involved in these crimes. In terms of safety, always remember to keep your gates locked, make sure there’s outdoor lighting at night and try your best to travel in groups.”
