The number of serious crimes committed on school premises continues to rise, according to the latest crime statistics released by Police Minister Bheki Cele on Wednesday.
Statistics for the second quarter show that rape, attempted murder and assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm have increased, while murders remained the same, it had increased by more than 200% compared to last year.
The number of rapes committed at creches, schools and tertiary institutions increased to 83 in the period of July to September, from 67 in March to June. A majority of the rape cases (67) occurred at schools, six at day care centres, five at schools for pupils with special needs and five at tertiary institutions.
Murder remains at 19, having increased by more than 200% from seven to 19 in the period of December 2021 to February this year.
Assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm increased to 258 from 217 in the March to June period.
Though stating that the educational institutions are crime scenes – and that not all victims were pupils or students, the police have not been able to provide Sunday World with the number of murders or rapes that involved pupils or teachers as victims of perpetrators.
Police spokesperson Lirhandzu Themba had not been able to confirm the number of murder or rape cases involving pupils or teachers despite several follows up to an enquiry made on October 4.
Crime in schools has become a growing concern with Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga revealing last week that a total of 411 gang-related incidents in schools were reported to the department of basic education across the country since the beginning of the year.
In September this year, Motshekga was asked what steps her department was taking to prevent the occurrence of crime such as rape and murder in schools.
In her reply, Motshekga said the National School Safety Framework (NSSF) remains the department’s primary strategic response to school violence.
“It is a comprehensive approach that coordinates and consolidates all school safety interventions in the sector. The NSSF is based on a social ecological systems model which locates the school within its broader community. It relies on collaboration and partnerships for a more coordinated approach to responding to school violence,” she said.
She also said: “Schools have systems in place to report violent incidences and criminal behaviour at local police stations, to district and provincial office bearers and the South African Council of Educator,” she said.
She said for the 2022/2023 financial year, her department was conducting a monitoring and support exercise in all the 75 districts on the implementation of the NSSF.
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