On the positive side, Hoedspruit is in the top 30 in the country for sexual offenses detected as a result of police action. The local police station recorded seven cases of rape in the applicable three months when compared to the seven cases also reported in the previous year. Drug-related crimes decreased by 57,1%, from seven to three cases. Another crime which also decreased is the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
It decreased by 100% from two to zero incidences in 2021/2022. There were no murder cases reported and no reports of carjacking were made and no record of a robbery at residential premises was documented in this period. Statistics show that shoplifting and attempted murder increased from one to three incidents each compared to the same period last year. Robbery with aggravating circumstances increased from one case in 2021 to four cases in 2022.
Nationwide a total of 7 004 murders were recorded, 841 more culminating in a 13,6% increase. The country documented 6 149 cases of carjacking, an increase of 23,6% from the 4 973 in the 2021/2022 period. The majority of the murders and attempted murders are committed in public areas such as parks, open fields, and on the street. Inanda Police Station in KwaZulu-Natal has reported the highest
number of murders nationwide with 99 cases.
Also read: Tzaneen crime statistics show an increase in rape cases
Countrywide statistics on sexual offences have inclined by 11,0% from 11 964 to 13 283 cases. “The crime statistics reflect crimes that were reported to the SAPS from July 1 up to September 30,” said minister of police, Bheki Cele, in his address at the release of the statistics. “These crime figures are compared to the same period in 2021 when the country was under lockdown due to the outbreak of Covid-19. Between July to September 2021, the country was under Lockdown levels 4, 3, and 2.
“7 004 people were killed by other persons in South Africa in the second quarter of the 2022/2023 financial year. This is an increase of 841 more people murdered, compared to the same period in 2021. Arguments, misunderstandings, and incidents of road rage and provocations accounted for 956 murders in the country. Vigilantism incidents claimed the lives of 528 people while 362 people were killed during robberies. Inanda, uMlazi, police stations in KwaZulu-Natal and Nyanga station in the Western Cape registered the highest counts of murder.”
