SAPS Present 2021 3rd Quarter Crime Stats, 900 Women Murdered, Rape Decreases

• The Portfolio Committee on Police received South Africa's October to December 2021 crime statistics in Cape Town
• The statistics show that many types of crime have decreased since the same period in 2020, including assault and rape
• Politicians feel that the number of crimes committed is too high, and works needs to be done to decrease these substantially

CAPE TOWN - Today (18 February), the South African Police Service (SAPS) presented South Africa's crime statistics for October to December 2021 to the Portfolio Committee on Police.

Bheki Cele, the Minister of Police, and Khehla Sitole, the police commissioner, attended the presentation in Cape Town, which Major General Thulare Sekhukhune led.

Sekhukhune reported that in the period, there were 562 more murders in South Africa than in the third quarter of 2020, News24 reports. This represents an 8.95 increase in 12 months. In addition, 900 of the people killed in this period were women.

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Crime in South Africa: sexual abuse and rape

The report showed that, compared to 2020's third quarter, 9% fewer sexual abuse incidents took place. The decreases were present in the following categories of crime: assault, grievous bodily harm and robbery.

Sekhukhune said that 7.4% fewer rape cases took place than during the same period in 2020, according to IOL. The total number of rape cases reported to SAPS during the third quarter of the current financial year is 11 315.

Many politicians and Members of Parliament commented on the latest crime statistics by saying that, while the decreases in various types of crime are positive, much more needs to be done as the numbers are still too high to guarantee personal safety for South Africans.

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South Africans react to crime statistics

@inopinus said:

"The crime statistics are a horrible catastrophe, Minister Cele."

@Dumi_Dludlu believes:

"SA has the most useless police commissioner and police."

@deAndrento shared:

"This is madness."

@lunga_Mzimba said:

"Serious intervention is needed right now, this cannot be the norm."

@Jimmy_Arniel remarked:

"This is an average of 300 per month."

"What a joke": Cele insists Malema was in cahoots with Sitole to have him axed

Speaking of Cele, Briefly News previously reported that Minister of Police Bheki Cele has spoken out against an alleged plan to have him removed from his position. On 11 February, he made the revelations during the first leg of the 2022 State of the Nation (SONA) debate at the Cape Town City Hall.

Taking to the podium, Cele, who has been under the pump from ordinary citizens for some time, pointed an accusing finger at Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema and national police commissioner Khehla Sitole for attempting to hatch a plot to see him vacate from his role.

Several opposition speakers, including Malema, found it glaring that Cele was still the Police Minister following the conclusions of the report into the July unrest and the picture it paints against him.

Source: Briefly News