SA murders drop very slightly in quarter two — but remain at nearly 7,000

Murder and sexual offences have continued their downward trend‚ with murder decreasing by 0.8% and sexual offences by 1.5% in the second quarter of the 2023/24 financial year.

These‚ however‚ were the only two contact crimes categories — crimes against an individual — to continue declining from the first quarter.

The rest increased‚ with the overall category rising by 2.1%.

Police top management briefed parliament's police portfolio committee before the release of the second quarter crime statistics‚ covering the period July 1 to the  end of September.

Maj-Gen Norman Sekhukhune, joined by police minister Bheki Cele and police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola‚ provided MPs with a breakdown of the statistics.

He said 6‚945 murder cases were reported‚ 59 less than in the same period last year.

A total of 13‚090 sexual offences were reported‚ down from 13‚283 during the same period in 2022.

Attempted murder saw the highest increase within the category‚ rising by 12.3%. There were 42‚297 attempted murder cases reported‚ 6‚911 more than the same period last year.

Robbery with aggravating circumstances saw the lowest increase‚ rising by 1.1%. This means 439 more cases were reported to police between July and September.

In the sexual offences category‚ rape declined by 0.7% and sexual assault by 2.5%. There were 10‚516 rape cases reported‚ down by 74 from the same period last year.

Contact sexual offences saw the biggest decrease‚ dropping by 35.9%. The only offence to increase in this category was attempted sexual offence‚ which went up by 4.1%.

Commenting before the presentation‚ Cele said while crime remained “stubborn”‚ police were “beginning to see green shoots” in certain categories. He cited recent successes in investigating cash-in-transit heists and making arrests‚ as well as the arrest of a woman linked to insurance fraud on Thursday.

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