Crime Stats: 5 760 people killed in three months, reveals Bheki Cele

Police Minister General Bheki Cele releases crime statistics for the first quarter of 2021/2022 financial year. Picture: Siyabulela Duda/GCIS

Police Minister General Bheki Cele releases crime statistics for the first quarter of 2021/2022 financial year. Picture: Siyabulela Duda/GCIS

Published Aug 20, 2021

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Durban - Within three months this year, 5 760 people were murdered in South Africa.

This shocking statistic was revealed on Friday when Police Minister Bheki Cele presented the quarterly crime statistics for April to June this year.

In the three months of reporting, Cele said a 66,2 % increase in murder was recorded.

He explained that the never-seen-before double digit increase was as a result of comparing it to the same period last year which recorded abnormal figures as the country was under hard lockdown level 5 where most people were forced to stay indoors.

Compared to the previous normal period of the 2019/2020 financial year, the murder rate would have increased by 6.7%, he reported.

However, the massive increase of murders could not be overlooked.

The recorded figures of 5 760 murders from April to June this year is still 2 294 more, as compared to the corresponding period in the previous financial year.

Out of the top 30 police stations with recorded murders, the Khayelitsha, Phillipi East and Bityi police stations in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape recorded decreases in their murder figures.

But despite these drops, the volumes of murder remained high.

Cele reported that from a sample of 4 467 cases, it was determined that a total of 2 531 people were murdered in public places like on the street, open field, parking areas and abandoned buildings.

A total of 1 385 murders occurred at the home of the victim or of the perpetrator, while 206 of the murders occurred at liquor outlets.

Liquor outlets was the fourth most likely place to be killed in South Africa.

Overall, contact crimes increased by 60.6% compared to the skewed same period last year.

“If comparison was made to the normal period, prior to the country being placed under lockdown Level 5, 4 and 3, this would have resulted in an increase of 0.6%,” Cele reported.

The top four causative factors of these murders were arguments, robberies, mob justice incidents and gang-related killings.

“We welcome the arrest of the 14th suspect linked to the brutal killing of eight young men in Zandspruit on the 17th of May. We also call on police to improve their working relations and service delivery to communities, so that residents don’t resort to taking the law into their own hands,” Cele said.

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Political Bureau