More murder cases were reported in January and February

Kwatsaduza – The minister of police, Bheki Cele urged police and the community to work hand in hand to fight the increasing crime statistics.
He was speaking during the release of the fourth quarter crime statistics in Tshwane last Friday.
The crime figures are a reflection of crime reported to the police in the first three months of 2022.
Cele explained that the first three months of 2022 have been marred by more murders, more sexual violence, and more assaults, compared to the same time period in the previous year.
“They show an increased level in contact crimes, these are cases where victims are targets of violence.
“The first three months of this year were violent, brutal and unsafe for many South Africans, is as the result of the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment, increasingly encouraged opportunistic criminal behaviour.
“However, police have made some gains and intercepted greedy criminal syndicates involved in extortion, kidnapping and cash-in-transit heists and drug smuggling. Unfortunately, their collective actions have not yielded the expected results,” he added.

Also read; Crime syndicates targeting Springs residents

Women and children
January February and March of 2022 were especially brutal for women and children of this country, murder, attempted murder and assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) of women all recorded double-digit increases.
Murder and assault GBH of children under 17 years, also recorded sharp increases. However, the number of attempted murder cases of children has declined by 6.8%.
Murder
In the three months of reporting, a 22.2% increase in murder was recorded – with 1 107 more people killed compared to the same period in 2021.
Out of the 6 083 people killed in the country, 898 were women and 306 children under 17. The murder of children recorded a 37.2% increase in the period of reporting.

Also read: Residents join hands to fight crime

Causes of murder
Some of the causes of the murders include arguments, vigilantism, revenge or retaliation. Robberies remain the top four causative factors of these deaths.
A total of 2 268 people were murdered in public places such as open fields, streets, parking areas and abandoned buildings.
The second most likely place for murder to take place is at the home of the victim or perpetrator, with 1 350 people killed in that environment.
Liquor outlets and public transport such as busses, taxis or trains were the third and fourth most likely places to be killed in South Africa. Contact Crimes, increased by 15.0 %.
Rape
All sexual offences recorded a 13.7% increase, with contact sexual offences recording the only decrease in this crime category.
In the first three months of this year, 10 818 people were raped, almost half of the cases, 4 653 rapes took place at the home of the rape victim or the home of the rapist.
Public parks, beaches, streets, open fields, parking areas and abandoned buildings were the second most likely places for rapes to occur.
Liquor was involved in 1 290 of the rapes.
Assault
There were 42 992 cases of assault GBH and 45 746 cases of common assault opened – a drastic increase of 6 575 more cases reported.
Out of 42 992 cases of assault GBH, 1 937 victims were children under 17.
Arguments, road rage, intervention in a fight and robberies were some of the leading causes of the assault GBH.
Kidnapping
There were 3 306 cases of kidnapping, with over 1 700 more cases reported compared to the same comparative period.
Most of the kidnapping cases were hijacking, robbery and rape-related.
The Gauteng province accounts for the bulk of the kidnapping cases, recording over a thousand more cases in the period of reporting.
Cele added that police alone cannot win the fight against crime. “We need deeper partnerships with communities built on trust, commitment, and delivery.”

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