MBOMBELA – The MEC of the Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Mr Vusi Shongwe, released a detailed breakdown of provincial crime statistics on Tuesday for the period of April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015.
All in all the province has recorded 101 116 criminal cases in total for the period, signalling a decrease of 404 compared with the previous financial year.
The statistics show that 831 cases of murder were reported in the province, indicating a 3,1 per cent hike while robberies increased by 7,7 per cent.
Cases of attempted murder have also decreased by eight per cent, with common robbery declining by 1,4 per cent. The MEC attributed the increase in murder cases to mob justice.
He was accompanied by the provincial police commissioner, Lt Gen Adv Mark Magadlela and other senior members in the province.
Shongwe also said sexual-offences cases have declined by 8,5 per cent compared with the last financial year. The stats also pointed out that there were 5 656 cases of robbery with aggravated circumstances. This signalled a 7,7 increase compared with the previous financial year.
Previously, Mpumalanga was rated the top crime-fighting province in the country according to the national crime statistics for the 2012/13 financial year.
The statistics also pointed out that areas such as Pienaar, Acornhoek, Middelburg, Witbank and KwaMhlanga were the highest in contact crimes which related to incidents such as murder, attempted murder and robbery.
Shongwe said the hike in certain crime statistics needed to push both the police and the community to work harder to combat crime. “We should continue to mobilise for community participation in order to strengthen the fight against crime,” he said.
According to the MEC, protest actions had cost the government a lot of money and hindered adequate service delivery.
“It is therefore important that we continue to educate our communities that public demonstrations can be done peacefully without any damage to state properties,”
he said.
The government was also concerned with the increase in cases of illegal firearm possession.
“More people are being arrested for illegal firearms possession that are used to commit most serious crimes.”
Shongwe added that the province had identified ways to fight drunken-driving cases, which included night patrols.
