31 July 2020 - Police Minister General Bheki Cele at the release of the annual crime statistics 2019/2020 hosted in Pretoria, Gauteng, on Friday | Image: Supplied GCIS
The latest crime statistics for the period of July to September may show that when compared to the same period last year, contact crimes like murder, rape and assault were down by 11.6%, but there’s actually nothing to celebrate.
In that period 5 107 people were murdered. No reduction in numbers will offer comfort to the victims or their loved ones that have been affected by crime.
Police Minister Bheki Cele said: “Over 900 people were killed in their homes or the homes of those who ended their lives. Alarmingly, argument and misunderstanding remained the main drivers of murder.”
Not too much can be read into the crime statistics because of the hard lockdown. Crime in the first quarter during the lockdown was always going to be down considerably, but there has been a marked spike in crime since the levels of lockdown have been eased.
Between April and June, 3 466 people were still killed in SA.
We can’t drop our guard.
The bottom line is that the public live in fear. South Africa is a violent society, and crime is far too prevalent. More needs to be done to make South Africa a safer place to live in.
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