Johannesburg - More than 34 000 cases ranging from rape, murder and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm were as a result of alcohol, crime statistics for 2019/20 show.
The crime stats for 2019/20 were released by Police Minister Bheki Cele on Friday.
MURDER
The crime stats show that out of the country’s 21 325 murders during the 2019/20 financial year, 1 430 murders were as a result of alcohol. This translates to 6.7% of all murders.
In terms of murders that took place at establishments where alcohol was sold as a drink of choice – such as shebeens, pubs, night clubs, bars or taverns, there were 844 murders. This translates to 3.95% of murders.
“One other problem we have found with Inanda is that most people are raped coming from shebeens, they are raped around shebeens or they are raped in shebeens.
“Murders will go with these rapes, which means alcohol does play a role with these issues,” said Cele.
The statistics also noted incidences where four or more people were killed in tavern shootings.
It noted incidences in Khayelitsha and Boitekong, where four people died. There was another incident where 7 people died in one shooting incident at a tavern in Khayelitsha.
ATTEMPTED MURDER
The latest crime statistics released by the police show that there were a total of 18 635 cases of attempted murder.
The police said 1 294 of the cases could be attributed to alcohol, while 838 attempted murder cases were as a result of incidences that occured at shebeens, pubs, night clubs, bars or taverns. This translates to 6.9% and 4.4%, respectively.
RAPE
The crime statistics also show 348 people were raped at shebeens, pubs, night clubs, bars or taverns during the 2019/20 financial year. There were 42 289 rape cases opened in the same period, meaning the rape incidences at shebeens, pubs, night clubs, bars or taverns, account for 0.00008%.
In terms of rape cases where alcohol had been consumed, there were 2 859 cases, or 6.7%.
ASSAULT GBH
The crime statistics also show that 11 128 people were assaulted violently with an intent to cause grievous bodily harm at shebeens, pubs, night clubs, bars or taverns during the 2019/20 financial year.
There were 166 720 Assault GBH cases opened, meaning incidences at alcohol establishments accounted for 6.6% of cases.
For incidences under the influence of alcohol, there were 19 843, accounting for 11.9% of cases.
Meanwhile, police said 94 273 cases of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs were detected by police during the current financial year 2019/2020.
They said in the past 10 years, 759 904 cases of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs were detected.
IOL