Cape Town - South Africa’s crime statistics for the past financial year have revealed a decrease of crime in the country by 1.8%.
Briefing the Parliament’s portfolio committee on police, Police Minister Fikile Mbalula said he was not pleased with the figure, citing that these revealed “lazy efforts” of police officers.
“This increase is too small and indicative of the lazy efforts by the police to detect such crime, in order to make South Africa a safer place to live in” said Mbalula.
Of this figure, the murder rate has increased by 1.6% compared to the 2014/2015 financial period. Children and women made up an approximate 13% of overall murder victims.
SAPS head of statistics, Norman Sekhukhune said 19,016 murders were reported in the last financial year, while 18,673 murders were reported in the 2014/2015 financial year.
Read: #CrimeStats: Gauteng is SA's most deadly province
Mpumalanga came in as leading with 11.1% followed by Gauteng with 6.7%, while Kwazulu-Natal murders increased by 2.2% and Western Cape by 2.7%.
This marks the first time Mbalula has presented crime statistics as police minister.
Limpopo recorded 898 murders in 2014/2015 and 813 in 2016/201, with the biggest decrease amongst the nine provinces of 9.5%.
Sekhunene said murders could be attributed to factors such as social circumstances and social ills. Informal settlements were also identified as susceptible to criminal activities.
Sekhukhune said social behavior, misunderstandings and domestic violence were however the leading factors in murder cases.
Gang related crimes in the Western Cape remain at a high.
Illegal mining is reported to be a contributor for murder in Limpopo, Free State, Gauteng and Mpumalanga.
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In KwaZulu-Natal, the largest number of murders are related to taxi violence and hostel violence. Alcohol was also identified as a generator for murder in the province.
Attempted murder increased by 0.4% whereas common robbery recorded a decrease of 1.3%.
The year under review has recorded an increase in robbery with aggravating circumstances in all provinces. Robbery with aggravating circumstances have increased by 6.4% nationally.
Despite a number of media reports on cases of sexual offences, the SAPS team have revealed that sexual offences have decreased by 4.3%. About 39828 rape cases were reported in 2016/2017.
Gauteng and North West have recorded an increase of 0.6% and 3.9% respectively.
Gauteng, Kwazulu Natal and Eastern cape have the highest reorted case of sexual offence.
Crimes detected as a result of police stations have from 355926 in 2014/2015 to 390021 in 2016/2017. This category of crimes include crimes discovered by active policing, such as road-blocks and raids.
These statistics only reveal crimes reported to the police.
Mbalula said these statistics reveal police action, which is not sufficient.
“Yes, we have a 1.8% drop in crime, I do not feel it, and our people do not feel it, and they are correct. We have a drop in sexual violence, but we have more and more pictures of our women going missing. People must feel the drop in crime where they live,” said Mbalula.
Mbalula said his department has established a specialised unit to combat crimes.
“We have relaunched specialised units to focus on drugs, rape, violent threats and violent criminals” he said.
The SAPS announced that it will be enhancing their technological capacity to match the evolved digital technology arena.
The Minister declined to reveal statistics on farm murders when asked by FF Plus MP Pieter Groenewald.