Drop in some violent crimes a step in the right direction: Expert

Security expert, Lizette Lancaster, says the decrease in some categories of crime shows that the police are more willing to deal with unlawful acts in the country.

Earlier, Police Minister, Senzo Mchunu, revealed the third quarter Crime Statistics, from October to December last year.

Murder, rape and attempted sexual offences rates dropped across all provinces.

Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), remain the highest contributors to overall national murder figures, accounting for 25% and 21.4%, respectively. They are followed by the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape.

The Minister says while there’s been a reduction in contact crimes against women – the surge in attempted murder cases against children aged 0 to 17 years is concerning.

 

At least 6 953 killings were recorded in the last three months of 2024, showing a drop of 757 cases year-on-year, according to the Minister.

The country’s murder rate reached a record of 27 621 people killed in the 2023/2024 financial year running from February to March, according to the latest police figures.

Minister Mchunu says the murder rate remains concerning despite the 9.8% slide in the last quarter.

Lancaster, who is the Crime Hub Manager at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), agrees with the Minister and says violent crimes in the country remain alarming.

 

The Western Cape recorded the highest number of gang-related murders nationwide.

During the briefing, Mchunu revealed that the province recorded 263 gang-related murder cases during the third quarter.

Crime analyst and senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, Dr Johan Burger, says while the stats should be welcomed, the main problem in the country is the under-reporting of crime.

He says this can, in some instances, make it seem like the statistics aren’t reliable.

ANC celebrating crime stats like a kid with a participation trophy. SA is a crime hotspot, and they expect applause for ‘progress’? How about fixing the broken justice system first?

— GingerNomad (@G1ngerNomad) February 21, 2025

Do you believe the SA crime stats are correct? #CrimeStats

— Barney Simon (@BarneySimon) February 21, 2025

No. We need more race based stats. We’re forever fighting each other regarding who experiences most crime, who pays most taxes, etc etc. That will put an end to the fighting, which is ehy, I believe, government will NOT do it. They need us to fight for them to loot in peace.

— Miskruier (@Miskruier) February 21, 2025

Unpopular opinion: ALL SAns (irrespective of race or economic class) are subjected to the high crime stats in the country 🎯
SA has a crime problem due to its economic & political conditions

— Enough Is Enough (@2020EnufIsEnuf) February 21, 2025

If you can look on the crime stats of SA,you will see that black people,especially males are most likely to being killed.This thing of a farm murder does not exist. It is just whites want some special protection bcs they believe they are most important than everyone.

— ludacrous303 (@ludacrous366360) February 20, 2025