Gender-based violence and rape continue to haunt South Africa, according to Police Minister Bheki Cele, who said 10 590 rapes were reported between July and September with only 286 convictions.
Cele was speaking in Pretoria on Wednesday during the announcement of quarterly crime statistics, saying 46 perpetrators were sentenced to life imprisonment for rape during the reporting period.
“5 983 rapes took place in victims’ homes or where they were comfortable and 1 631 took place in public spaces. Eighty-three rapes took place in both primary and high school, some were also recorded in daycare centres and tertiary institutions,” said Cele.
During the reporting period, the murder of women and children spiked, with 989 women murdered and 315 children aged 0-17 years being killed.
“The murder rate is up significantly when compared with the 6 163 murders committed in the same period last year,” Cele said, mentioning that the crime statistics reveal that there were 7 004 murders during the period under review, an increase of 841 compared with the previous quarter.
KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest number of murder cases with 185 people killed. It is followed by Gauteng with 145 murders, 113 in the Western Cape, and 74 in the Eastern Cape.
Cele further stated that 24 law enforcement, security and police officers were killed in the line of duty during the reporting period.
The number of assault cases also increased significantly during the quarter compared with five years ago. About 13 000 assault cases were reported. Of those cases, 1 277 perpetrators attempted to kill their victims.
He also said the month of July experienced a spike in carjacking, robbery at residential and non-residential premises, cash-in-transit robberies, bank robberies and truck hijackings, noting that the police’s operational responses nationwide will continue to take guns off the streets.
#sapsHQ The Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele reiterates that the SAPS will ensure a #SaferFestiveSeason with #MoreBootsOnTheGround towards enhanced #PoliceVisibility. #CrimeStats ML pic.twitter.com/vDq5Z90xFJ
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) November 23, 2022
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