Murder rising in Gauteng
The national crime statistics released on Tuesday reveal that murder was still on the rise.
The murder rate in Gauteng kept rising this year with 3 671 people killed between 1 April last year and 31 March this year, Police Minister Nathi Nhleko said on Tuesday.
Releasing the latest crime statistics, he said the murder rate in the province was the second highest in the country.
The number of murders committed increased by 346 in the 12 months since April last year.
Nhleko was briefing the Parliamentary police portfolio committee in Cape Town on the latest crime figures.
He said the overall number of murders had increased for the third year in a row.
Contact crime, which included murder, attempted murder, assault and robbery with aggravating circumstances, had spiked by 0.9%.
“Murder is an important crime to monitor because it is regarded as a benchmark indicator of a country’s safety and security,” Nhleko said.
Attempted murder was also up by 8.7%, with Gauteng in the second place again.
Nhleko said there was a massive hike in car and truck hijackings, but a drop in bank robberies and cash-in-transit heists.
The reason for the decrease was that criminals had moved to easier targets such as hijackings, houses and businesses.
“The issue of crime statistics is not simply about the numbers, but also reflected the state of society…it is who we are.”
The minister said a contributing factor to the murder rate was inequality and the number of illegal firearms still in the wrong hands despite police destroying thousands from time to time.
“Social mobilisation is needed to address murder.”
While crime levels were generally decreasing, there were categories that saw an increase.
“In essence, the issue of contact crime is a social phenomenon and is a matter that needs to be dealt with at a multi-disciplinary level across society,” he said.
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