Crime state: Murder and rapes spiked upwards in last months of 2020
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Minister of Police Bheki Cele at the release of the crime statistics. | Picture: GCIS
Cape Town - The national crime statistics for the third quarter of the 2020/2021 financial year make for bleak reading and have forced the SAPS to dig deep and put their shoulder to the wheel, Police Minister Bheki Cele said yesterday.
In his address, Cele said an increase of 6.6% in murder was recorded from October to December.
The Western Cape has among the top 30 stations that have reported the highest number of murders in the country.
“This means 389 more people were killed compared to the corresponding period in the previous financial year,” he said.
Cele said the biggest causes of the deaths are arguments, robberies at households and businesses, mob justice and gang-related cases.
“A total of 2481 people were murdered in public places like the streets, open fields, parking areas and abandoned buildings, 1643 murders occurred at the home of the victim or of the perpetrator,” he said.
He said liquor outlets were the third most likely place to be killed in, and crimes committed against a person decreased by 1.4%.
“A 5% increase has been recorded for sexual offences detected as a result of police action. At total of 12 218 people were raped between October and December last year. This is an increase of 181 cases, amounting to a 1.5% increase compared to the previous reporting period,” Cele said.
He added over 4 900 of the rape incidents took place at the home of the victim or the home of the rapist, while 570 were domestic violence-related; 547 of rape cases in this category involved female victims, and 23, males.
MEC for Community Safety, Albert Fritz said, it is noted that of the 30 stations reporting the highest number of murders in the country, 11 are in the Western Cape.
“There were increases in murders compared to the previous quarter in every station in the province excluding Gugulethu which saw a 11.3% decrease compared to the previous quarter,” he said.
He said during the period under review they deployed law enforcement officers to five crime hotspots including Delft, Nyanga, Khayelitsha, Bishop Lavis and Hanover Park.
Fritz said an emerging trend is that violent crimes such as murder, attempted murder and sexual offences increased in the third quarter whereas property-related crimes showed decreases.
“I noted the release of the quarterly crime statistics yesterday which show that there has been a 11.2% increase in murders, compared to the previous quarter,” he said.
DA spokesperson on police Okkie Terblanche said it is very concerning there had in been an increase in crime statistics in the province.
“It is quite apparent the police are not winning the war against crime, which is a concern for us because it means our people are not safe,” he said.
Terblanche said the minister knows the province is known for gangs but he is not on top of it.
He said police have not been recruiting in the last financial year due to Covid-19 which is understandable, however there is a lot that can be done.
“There are ex-police officers who are keen on rejoining and it would make it easy because they are trained which means they won't have to start from scratch, and also we need to utilise reservists because they know their communities very well and will go a long way in helping,” he said.
Stellenbosch University criminologist Guy Lamb said there is a very worrying development in crime because there should be none because of lockdown.
“It is going to be very interesting to see the crime stats for the next quarter because there was no access to alcohol which plays a major role in most crimes,” he said.
Cele said the statistics expose some of the gaps that exist in policing certain crime categories.
“They also bear some of the policing shortcomings experienced in certain provinces, they do not paint a good picture and hence force us as the SAPS to dig deep and put the shoulder to the wheel,” he said.
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