Quarterly Crime Stats Show That Serious Crime and Murder On the Rise, Alcohol Key Contributor

• The quarterly crime states have been released by Minister of Police Bheki Cele in a press briefing on Friday
• The stats show that there has been a decline in the number of rape cases reported between April and June of this year
• Murder and serious crime are on the rise, and stats indicate that the consumption of alcohol fuels these types of crime

PRETORIA - Police minister Bheki Cele released the quarterly crime statistics at a media briefing on Friday, 19 August. The report covers crimes that were reported between April and June 2022.

Cele opened the press briefing by stating that there has been a decline in sexual offence cases, with almost 500 fewer rape cases reported compared to the same period last year when South Africa was in Lockdown.

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News24 reported that 286 rapists were convicted between April and June, with 46 suspects sentenced to life.

Cele commented on the rape Statistics saying:

"While the majority of rapes do take place behind closed doors and are hard to police, we are confident that it is through the FCS detective work that is preventing more rapes, hence the decrease in rape cases during the reporting period."

While rape cases are decreasing, Cele said murder is on the rise,e with 6 424 people murdered during the first quarter. This is a 664 increase compared to the same time last year.

TimesLIVE reported that the police minister also addressed the role that alcohol plays in committing a serious crime, saying that one of the biggest contributors to crime.

The stats on alcohol fuel crime are staggering as 227 people were killed in places that sell alcohol, and 749 murder cases were influenced by liquor.

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Cele said:

“The reality is that liquor was, during this reporting period, involved in over 4 thousand cases of assault GBH. In 1 212 rape cases, alcohol was involved during the commission of the crime."

Cele implored communities, religious organisational civil society and several grassroots organisations to address the role the consumption of alcohol plays in communities and as a contributor to serious crime.

South Africans react

South Africans are not convinced that alcohol fuels crime in south Africa.

Here are some comments:

@pataderp said:

“No. Criminals are a huge factor in crime.”

@JHBBooyse added:

“No, lawlessness is. We are led by an incompetent government. Next you will be blaming knives and forks for making people fat!”

@ALETTAHA commented:

“No, it is not. Drugs are. Drugs destroy people's minds. Then when those people drink, they go crazy and do awful things. When you and I drink, do we rape and murder? No. Because we did not take drugs or binge drink and did not damage our minds.”

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Why fighting crime in townships needs intense collaboration between police and communities

In related news, Briefly News reported that in the past month, South Africans woke up several times to news reports about tavern shootings on weekends, which had many people worried about the reasons behind the shootings.

The first tavern shootings took place a week after 21 teenagers died at Enyobeni Tavern in the Eastern Cape and South Africans at large were still mourning their deaths. Briefly News takes an in-depth look at the tavern shootings and what needs to be done in the future.

Source: Briefly News