This is according to crime statistics which was recently released by the police minister, Bheki Cele. Murder has increased by 42.9% from seven to ten cases were reported at the Giyani Police Station. One cash-in-transit took place last year, making it the first cash-in-transit in the past four years.
A100% rise in arson cases, from two cases to four, was reported Stock theft also increased by 64.3%. It seems that the awareness campaign around gender-based violence (GBV) is bearing fruit as rape cases declined by 21.3% from 48 to 38 cases. Four carjackings were reported in comparison to the five in the previous year. Burglaries at residential premises declined by 34.3% from 99 to 65.
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A total of 6 859 murders were recorded nationwide, 562 more culminating in an 8.9% increase. The country documented 5 455 cases of carjacking, an increase of 13.8% from the 4794 in the 2020/2021 period. The majority of the murders and attempted murders are committed in public areas such as parks, open fields, and on the street.
But not all is gloom as countrywide statistics of sexual offenses have declined by 9% from 15 595 to 14 188 cases. 903 fewer rape cases were opened in the past year, resulting in a 7.4% decline from 12 218 in 2020/2021 to 11 315 in 2021/2022. “These statistics are not necessarily a win for the SAPS, but they are certainly an improvement.
“It is through the acceleration of policing and improving our working relationships with communities, through community-based structures such as community policing forums (CPF) and other NGOs that the crime picture can be improved,” Cele
concluded.
