Police Minister Bheki Cele released crime statistics on Friday that make for grim reading – more than 9 500 rape complaints and over 6 400 murders were reported in SA in just three months.
Cele said between April and June this year, 9 516 rape cases were opened with the SA Police Service (SAPS).
Flanked by Deputy Police Minister Cassel Mathale; SAPS National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola; National Head of DPCI, Adv/Dr. Lt General Godfrey Lebeya; and other high-ranking police officers, Cele said: “It is on this that score the SAPS will continue to prioritise Gender Based Violence (GBV) related crimes”.
While the figures remain worryingly high, the police minister, said that compared to a similar period last year – when the country was under the Covid-19 lockdown – there was a decline in reports of sexual offences.
Cele said the statistics for the first quarter of 2022/2023 show a decrease in sexual offences including rape, sexual assault, attempted sexual offences, and contact sexual offences.
“This means there was a drop of over 800 cases of sexual offences that are far more often, perpetrated on women,” said Cele.
He said 500 fewer rapes were reported.
Other crimes that recorded a decrease include common robberies, common assault, and assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm. The minister said there had been a 33.3% drop in cash-in-transit robberies.
However, the police minister said the number of murders in this country remains high and worrisome.
“6 424 people were killed by other persons in South Africa in the first quarter of 2022/2023 financial year,” revealed Cele.
“This is an increase of 664 more people murdered, compared to the same period last year, when the country was placed under Covid-19 Lockdown levels one and two.”
He said the three main causes for murders remain arguments and misunderstandings.
Cele said fighting crime has also come at a cost for members of the SAPS across the country.
“18 police officers were killed during this reporting period,” said the minister.
On a positive note, the minister said between April and June this year, 286 rapists were convicted through investigative work done by the Family Violence, Child Protection, and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit.
The FCS unit of the SAPS investigates crimes committed against women and children and vulnerable groups.
“Out of the 286 rape convictions, 46 of the rapists were sentenced to life behind bars,” said Cele.
During the period under review, 855 women and 243 children were killed in South Africa.
“Over 11 000 Assault GBH cases, with female victims, were opened with the police. 1 670 such cases involved children,” said Cele.
“It is disturbingly worrying that 19 child murders took place at institutions of learning. This includes daycare facilities, primary and high schools, and tertiary institutions.”
The minister said the police were investigating attempted murder dockets for over 1 400 women and children who escaped death.
