Police Minister Bheki Cele. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
South Africa has seen a slight increase in the number of murders, although sexual related crimes have gone down, according to the latest crime statistics.
Police Minister Bheki Cele released the third quarterly crime statistics of the 2023/2024 financial year on Friday.
The stats cover the period from 1 October to 31 December 2023.
Cele noted that the third quarter was “very busy” for the police as it marked the festive period.
“It is clear that our efforts to combat and arrest criminals are proving to be effective,” he said.
The minister said the South African Police Service (Saps) made strides through Operation Shanela, with more than 442 000 arrests made since its inception in May last year.
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According to Cele, at least 32 200 suspects were nabbed by the police for common assault and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) during the festive period.
More than 4 880 people, the minister revealed, were arrested for murder and attempted murder, while just over 4 780 suspects were apprehended for sexual offences.
In regards to possession of drugs and illegal firearms as well as ammunition, just over 16 940 and more than 2 500 suspects were arrested respectively.
Additionally, some 6 380 suspects were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and other substances, while at least 3 740 people were detained for dealing in drugs.
“Four major drug busts during this period were registered. Three were at the Durban Harbour, where cocaine to the value of R300 million was seized in separate incidents,” Cele said.
He said the most recent drug bust took place on 4 December, in which cocaine valued at R151 million was confiscated by the police.
“The fourth drug bust was at the Gqerberha Sea Port where cocaine worth R65 million was seized. In this period, R800 million worth of drugs were destroyed in Gauteng. These were drugs collected during policing operations across the country.”
Cele pointed out that there has a reduction in the number of murders reported as the past two terms.
However, the minister revealed that a total of 7 710 people were murdered from October and December 2023.
He said it was “disturbing and concerning” the murder rate has increased by 2.1% in the third quarter.
This means 155 more people were killed when compared to the previous same period.
Despite this, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Eastern Cape and Free State recorded a decrease in the number of people murdered.
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“While they may not be out of the woods yet, it is important to highlight that attention and more resources have been allocated to stations that have the highest number of murders reported.
“The majority of the top 30 stations where murder was most reported include the Western Cape, KZN, Gauteng and Eastern Cape. Amongst the top five stations where murders were reported are in Inanda in KZN, and Mfuleni, Gugulethu, Nyanga and Khayelitsha in the Western Cape,” the minister continued.
Cele further revealed that sexual offences – including rape sexual assault and contact sexual offences – saw a 1.7% decline during the third quarter.
Gauteng, Eastern Cape, KZN, Limpopo, Northern Cape and Western Cape all recorded a decrease in this crime category.
South Africa saw a reduction in cash-in-transit (CIT) armed robberies, Cele higlighted.
“During this period, 46 CIT armed robberies took place which is 11 counts lower than the previous crime reporting period.
“In the past year, more than 75 wanted CIT suspects have been arrested during takedown operations. High calibre firearms including rifles and AK47s as well as high performance vehicles that were used in the commission of these crimes were seized,” the minister said.
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Meanwhile, property related crimes also recorded an overall 2.9% decrease in incidents reported.
“Burglary at non-residential premises saw a drop of 5.9 % while burglaries at residential premises registered a drop of 4.4% in the number of cases reported. Stock theft, which includes the theft of live stock, also registered a drop in the number of cases reported.”
Cele expressed concern over kidnappings for ransom, which become “a lucrative commodity” for organised crime in the country.
“The Saps continues in its efforts to identify and arrest groupings linked to kidnappings especially where ransom demands are being made. More than 300 suspects linked to these kidnappings have been arrested in the last two years.”
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