Murder, rape increased by 60% – Here are the latest crime stats

NATIONAL NEWS - Minister of Police Bheki Cele released the latest crime stats for the first quarter of the 2021-2022 year on Friday, showing a “double-digit increase in most crime categories”.

Cele said the surge in criminal activities “is attributed to the impact of the adjusted lockdown levels and distorted crime trends”, adding that these figures would not be “swept under the carpet”.

“We will instead bring to the fore a holistic picture of comparing the 2021-2022 quarter-one crime figures to a ‘normal period’ two years ago where there was no lockdown,” Cele said.

Crime stats: 2021-2022 Q1

Murder, attempted murder, sexual offences and assault registered a 60.6% increase, compared to the corresponding period of the previous financial year, Cele said.

The latest report also showed incidents of rape had increased by 72.4%.

Here’s a breakdown of the latest crime stats.

Murder statistics

An increase of 66.2% was reported, with 5,760 people killed between April and June 2021, which is 2,294 more than the previous financial year.

Cele said: “When compared to a period without lockdown, it would result in an increase of 362 more deaths.”

Most murders – 2,531 to be exact – occurred in public places such as streets, open fields, parking areas and abandoned buildings, while 1,385 murders occurred at either the home of the victim or perpetrator.

The top causative factors leading to murder include arguments, robberies, mob justice and gang-related killings.

Rape and sexual assault

Cele said 10,001 people were raped between April 2020 and June 2021, which is an increase of 4,201 cases (72.4%).

A sample of 5,439 rape cases revealed 3,766 of the rape incidents took place at the home of the victim or the rapist, while 487 cases were related to domestic violence.

“Rape hotspots’ in the country include Inanda in KwaZulu-Natal, Delft in the Western Cape, and Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape, with police stations in these regions recording the most incidents.

“The 47.1% increase is recorded for sexual offences when compared to the previous skewed reporting period, this figure is revised to 5.0% if compared to the previous normal period of 2019-2020 financial year,”