- The Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu reported the crime statistics for the period 1st October 2024 to 31st December 2024 on Friday morning.
- The minister reports a reduction in the instances of crime in South Africa.
- However, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Western Cape are still among the provinces that are worst affected by crime.
On Friday morning, Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu reported the crime statistics for the period 1st October 2024 to 31st December 2024 and surprisingly, there was good news in this report.
“Encouragingly, we have observed an overall decrease in several categories of crime,” Mchunu reported. The decrease is compared to the same period in 2023 and the categories that saw reductions include:
- Murder cases – 9.8 percent decrease,
- Rape cases – 3.3 percent decrease,
- Sexual offences – 3.2 percent decrease.
There was also a decline in carjackings and robberies at both residential and non-residential properties. For farmers, farming communities, and the agricultural sector, there was a 4.5 percent reduction in stock theft.
“We must, however, also acknowledge the areas that require urgent attention. We have seen an increase in cases of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and malicious damage to property. These crimes continue to disrupt communities and demand a reinforced response from law enforcement,” the minister added.
Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, and Western Cape are still among the provinces that are worst affected by crime. Gauteng and KZN have the highest murder figures in the country, accounting for 25 and 21.4 percent of murders respectively.
Meanwhile the Western Cape is still plagued by gang-related murders with 263 such cases reported in the third quarter alone. As many as 135 of these murders happened in Bishop Lavis, Mitchells Plain, Kleinvlei, Delft and Elsies River.
“The issue of gang violence requires a rethink in approach, because this is not only a historic matter but is also repetitive in nature; there is no point in us discussing one and the same thing with no change. We are dedicating the 27th of February (that is, next week Thursday) to amongst other things, review policing in high murder zones, and our focus will therefore be on murders and firearms, whereafter we will decide on the concrete steps that need to be taken. Partnerships with communities and other partners will be a critical element in the rethink in approach,” Mchunu said.
The minister goes on to say that the department’s Our Safer Festive Season initiative launched in October contributed to the reduction of crime in the quarter. As such, more crime fighting and prevention projects are being investigated with a view to championing proactive policing. In fact, the statistic reveal that crimes detected as a result of police action have increased during the reporting period.
“There are a number of crimes that are detected as a result of proactive police action, through the various operations carried out by the SAPS and the statistics indicate that has been an increase in cases of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. Just yesterday, 16 049 firearms were destroyed in accordance with Section 149 of the Firearms Control Act. We will continue to carry out measures aimed at ensuring that illegal weapons are seized and destroyed, so as to ensure the safety of our communities,” said the minister.
Further to that, the Mchunu says that the SAPS is focused on address the following ways of combatting crime:
- Making use of and improving our technology,
- Strengthening our Crime Intelligence,
- Capacitating and improving the efficiency of our detective services,
- Improving our forensic services,
- Improvement of general environment under which police officers work.
There is work still to do in addressing the crime problem but news that crime stats are down overall is encouraging to say the least.
You can find the crime statistics for the third quarter of 2024/25 here [PDF].
[Image – Gerd Altmann from Pixabay]
