Crime statistics: Violent crime drops but farmers urged to strengthen security during festive season

Crime statistics for July to September reveal that crime is generally down in comparison with the previous two years. This was according to crime stats for the second quarter recently released by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.

However, TLU SA says the small decline should not be seen as an achievement in a country with very high crime levels, but rather as a move in the right direction. The agriculture organisation urged farmers to sharpen their security measures because farm attacks and murders are traditionally higher during the festive season in December and January.

Declines compared to the same period last year:

• Contact crimes declined by 3%,
• murders declined by 5.8%,
• common robbery declined by 6.2%
• robbery with aggravating circumstances declined by 8.8%

Increases compared to last year:

• Attempted murder and assault increased by 2.2%
• Assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm increased by 1%

Bennie van Zyl, general manager of TLU SA, said the high crime rate in South Africa is because of the ‘normalisation of violence’ and a culture that supports crime through, for instance, politicians and unions that invoke violence by encouraging damage to property and farm attacks.

High levels of poverty, unemployment and inequality also contributed to the situation.

“Desperate people often turn to desperate measures when they do not have enough money to buy food or other living essentials,” he explained.

World Population Review ranked South Africa as the country with the fifth highest crime rate in the world in 2024, notably with high rates of assault, rape, homicide and other violent crimes.

Violent crimes on farms:

The crime statistics revealed that 94 of the murders, 71 attempted murders and 327 assaults with grievous bodily harm took place on agricultural land, a farm, plot or smallholding, and that two farmers, five farm dwellers, five unspecified people, two employees and one security official were murdered in the farming community during the second quarter of 2024.

Noko Masipa, DA member of Parliament, said crime in farming communities had far-reaching implications, not only for farmers and farmworkers but also for the broader agriculture sector.

“The South African Police Service (SAPS) should urgently address these issues by increasing their presence in affected areas and implementing targeted crime-prevention strategies. A coordinated effort to strengthen security in vulnerable farming communities and areas is vital to safeguard lives, protect livelihoods and ensure the stability of agricultural productivity,” he said.

Decline in farm attacks according to TLU statistics:

Piet Lötter, TLU SA manager of services, said the SAPS defined farm attacks and murders different from TLU SA. According to TLU SA statistics, these types of crimes are down.

The number of farm attacks declined from 155 in the period from January 2023 to October 2023 to 114 over the same period in 2024, while farm murders over these periods declined from 42 to 26, Lötter said.

Total farm murders amounted to 50 and farm attacks to 193 in 2023, whereas 26 farm murders and 114 farm attacks have been recorded this far in 2024.

Lötter, however, pointed out that farm attacks and murders are traditionally higher during the festive season in December and January, and therefore encouraged farmers to sharpen up their security systems and networks to safeguard themselves against attacks.

Read the full story on Farmer’s Weekly.