Crime stats paint ‘less alarming’ picture
“While the crime picture painted here is not ideal, it is certainly getting better with time planning and deployment of resources where they are needed most."
The latest quarter two crime statistics painted a less alarming picture of crime figures in the country compared to those of the previous quarter when there were no lockdown restrictions, police minister Bheki Cele said.
“These figures are certainly not reflecting a crime holiday, but they are neither as alarming as the previous quarter figures which were skewed as figures of a period that had no lockdown restrictions were compared to a period where the country was placed under hard lockdown,” he said.
Cele released the crime statistics recorded between July 1 and September 30, 2021, when the country went through levels four, three and two of lockdown.
The figures recorded were compared to the corresponding period in the 2019/2020 financial year when the country went through levels three, two and one of lockdown.
An increase of 20,7% in the number of murders was recorded during the period of reporting.
A total of 6 163 people were killed during this period, which was 1 056 more people compared to the corresponding period in the previous financial year.
“However, when compared to the previous normal period of the 2019/2020 financial year, a period of no lockdown, the murder percentage change would have been a 13,2% increase.”
Cele also noted that compared to a period without lockdown, 717 more people could have been killed.
The increase in the number of murders which were recorded was related to the unrest which took place in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in the month of July.
According to the crime statistics, the Pretoria North police station recorded a 62,5% decrease in murder cases while Kameeldrift police station recorded a 50% decrease and the Akasia police station saw a 35,7% decrease.
All but one police station in the north of Pretoria recorded increases in the crime category.
Akasia police station recorded a 94,4% increase while Pretoria North had 133,3% increase and Sinoville police stations recorded a 25% in the rape incidents which were recorded during the reporting period.
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Kameeldrift police station, on the other hand, recorded an 80% decrease in the number of rape incidents.
“The Temba police station in Gauteng, Thohoyandou station in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape’s Lusikisiki and Inanda in KZN police stations recorded the highest incidents of rape,” Cele said.
The Temba police station, in Hammanskraal, recorded 74 rape incidents compared to 40 during the corresponding period last year.
Police stations in the north of Pretoria which recorded significant increases in these crime categories included Akasia and Kameeldrift.
The Akasia police station recorded a 23,1% increase in robberies at residential premises and a 57,9% increase in robberies at non-residential premises while Kameeldrift also recorded a 200% increase in robberies at non-residential premises.
“There were 388 less residential robberies in the month of July to September 2021, compared to the corresponding period in the previous financial year,” Cele said.
However, a 7,1% decrease in carjacking incidents was recorded at the Akasia police station.
“While the crime picture painted here is not ideal, it is certainly getting better with time planning and deployment of resources where they are needed most,” Cele said.
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