By Kouthar Sambo

According to Police Minister Bheki Cele, the goal of publishing crime statistics is to assess how well the police are doing at upholding the peace and the law. 

Furthermore, the third quarter statistics indicate that crime is still a major issue, although visible policing and disruptive operations have helped to deter illegal behavior. 

“It is a grim picture. It allows us the opportunity to reveal our leap deployments. During the State of the Nation Address, the president indicated that SAPS is going to use a data-led approach, but it also speaks to better social coercion amongst our communities. 

This quarter is from October to December, and during that period we have seen a high increase in gang-related activities – numerous areas were affected by gang violence, which contributed to this particular murder rate that we have seen here in our province,” explains Reagen Allen, the Western Cape MEC for Police Oversight and Community Safety.

The release of crime statistics by Police Minister Bheki Cele was rather shocking, with 9 516 rape cases that were opened with SAPS, between April and June 2022. This amounts to approximately 500 fewer rape cases reported when compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, 6 424 people were killed in the first quarter, which is an increase of 664 additional people being murdered in comparison to last year. 

“When we look at the various crime categories in our province, for instance, 21% of gang-related activities was a big concern – situations where there’s arguments, misunderstandings, and grievances amongst residences, leading to someone taking another person’s life, and that amounted to 23% of interpersonal violence, which contribute to murder as well,” says Allen.

He went on to say that alcohol plays a huge role when it comes to escalated violence, “We are so aware that alcohol needs to be curbed because we are seeing several murders happening even outside shebeens, including rapes. I am also calling on Community Police Forums (CPFs), neighborhood watches and SAPS for greater collaboration between safety stakeholders and communities in our province.”

Photo: Pixabay