A 3.8% increase was recorded in contact crimes (consisting of murder, assault and sexual offences) between October and December last year.
The 2023 third quarter crime statistics is compared to same period in 2022, in which all but one crime saw increases – sexual offences. Attempted murder saw the highest rise, by 13%; murder rose by 2.1% and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm increased by 5.8%.
While Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, announced the latest crime stats on Friday – he commended the work done by police officers to curb sexual-related offences.
“We are encouraged to report that all our sexual offences crimes including, rape, sexual assault and contact sexual offences all registered an overall 1.7% decline during this period.”
Police intervention highlights
Cele noted that during that time 32 229 suspects were arrested for assault, 4 783 suspects were apprehended for sexual offences and 4 882 arrests were made for murder and attempted murder.
He attributed these arrests to the success of Operations Shanela, which was launched in May last year to tackle crime in the country.
“It is clear that our efforts to prevent, combat and arrest criminals is proving to be effective. It is also quite clear with the number of arrests made, that Operation Shanela is making its mark and putting a dent on serious, violent and organised crime.”
Western Cape
Minister Bheki Cele noted some concerning statistics as it relates to the Western Cape. In the top 10 stations for murder, six of them were in the provice – specifically Cape Town. Mfuleni, Gugulethu, Nyanga, Khayelithsa, Delft and Harare were all in the top 10.
At the same time, majority of the gang-related murders were also recorded in the province.
“It is also concerning that of the 268 gang-related murders, 250 of these murders were reported in the Western Cape.”
But, Cele says there’s progress in other areas. He says there’s been success in dismantling the construction mafias in the province.
“The Western Cape province has also made significant progress in dismantling and taking down those behind the 30% construction mafia grouping where projects were delayed as a result of acts of criminality. Amongst the many arrested include the Kingpins which include Ralph Stanfield and his wife Nicole Johnson and three others.”
ALSO READ: Western Cape Second Quarter Crime Stats
