SAPS to release fourth quarter crime statistics
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia will release the fourth quarter crime statistics at 1pm on Friday.
Image: File
The South African Police Service (SAPS) will release the latest crime statistics on Friday, providing crucial insights into crime trends across the country for the fourth quarter of the previous financial year (January to March 2026).
Police Minister Firoz Cachalia, Deputy Minister Cassel Mathale, and Acting National Commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane are expected to present the figures at the GCIS Auditorium in Hatfield, Pretoria, at 1pm on Friday.
The release comes after the SAPS published its third-quarter crime statistics earlier this year, which showed a mixed picture of crime in South Africa. The country recorded a decline in several major violent crime categories during the October to December 2025 period.
Despite these declines, concerns remained over persistently high levels of violent crime and gender-based violence. More than 11,000 rape cases were still recorded in a single quarter, while several police precincts in the Western Cape and Gauteng continued to rank among the country’s worst-affected areas for murder and violent crime.
Today’s release is expected to provide further insight into whether those downward trends continued into the first three months of 2026, as well as highlighting emerging crime hotspots and policing challenges nationwide.