Cape Town - A sharp increase in the number of murders and "frightening" high rape figures for the period October 1 to the end of December last year have MPs worried.
Members of Parliament’s police portfolio committee were briefed on Friday by SA Police Service management on the 2021/22 third quarter crime statistics.
Major-General Norman Sekhukune said murder increased by 8.9% (562 cases) compared to the previous quarter, while attempted murder dropped by 3.5% (193 cases) during the period.
Murder increased in all provinces except the Free State and the Western Cape.
Sekhukune said there was a declining trend in sexual offences (1 407), assault with intent to cause bodily harm (3 611), common assault (794), common robbery (1 298) and robbery with aggravating circumstances (456).
However, car-jacking was on the increase (661), as was robbery at non-residential premises (86), bank robbery (six) and truck hijacking (12).
Robbery at residential premises and cash-in-transit heists slightly decreased ( 21 and five, respectively).
There were increased cases of arson and malicious damage to property, recorded at 963 and 30 658 respectively.
According to Sekhukune, there were also increases in the murder and attempted murder of women (902 and 1240 respectively) along with assault with intent to inflict bodily harm (15 692).
He said there were 352 murders of children, 394 attempted murders and 2 048 assault GBH.
Committee chairperson Tina Joemat-Pettersson said that while sexual offences had dropped, the number of rape cases was remained unacceptably high.
“These percentages don’t tell much when rape is recorded at 11 315 over three months,” she said.
NFP MP Munzoor Shaik Emam said: “The rape figures are frightening.”
DA MP Okkie Terblanche said the statistics showed that 74 people were killed on average each day.
“The increase is 25% in the past five years. I think that is appalling,” Terblanche said.
ACDP leader Kenneth Meshoe said the crime statistics were not encouraging at all.
“With women and children murdered, the numbers are just too high. It is unacceptable,” he said.
Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald said the crime statistics appeared good overall as they showed that crime decreased during the period, except for murder and attempted murder.
Groenewald said it was disturbing that car-jacking was on the increase, by 661 to a total of 5 455 cases.
He also said he was worried about mob justice, which showed that people have lost trust in the police.
“We are becoming a state where people take the law into their own hands,” he said.
The statistics showed that there were 357 murders, 52 attempted murders and 225 assault GBH incidents arising from mob justice incidents.
Groenewald said it was encouraging there was a decrease in incidents of rape (11 315) and sexual assault (2 069) by 7, 4% and 13, 4%, respectively.
“These figures are still unacceptably high, though, and the FF Plus is of the opinion that it would be valuable to know in how many cases of rape, murder and attempted murder of women the victim had previously filed a complaint with the police for, among other things, domestic violence,” he said.
IFP MP Zandile Majozi said the incidence of kidnapping was very alarming and very concerning.
“There is too much happening in Gauteng,” Majozi said, refering to the report, which showed 60 kidnaps occurednationally, 17 of which were in Gauteng.
Police Minister Bheki Cele said the latest statistics showed a significant reduction in the number of crimes committed and reported to the SAPS.
“While all provinces are unique in their crime patterns and policing approach, as the ministry we urge provincial management of the SAPS to self-reflect and sharpen some of their approaches when dealing with contact crimes,” Cele said.
He also said there was no doubt that the increased staffing of the SAPS, with the recruitment of 12 000 trainees this year, would further add to the gains of the service.
“These [crime] statistics are not necessarily a win for the SAPS, but they are certainly an improvement.”
Political Bureau