It seems criminals were also under lockdown during the Coronavirus pandemic because as soon as restrictions were lifted, crime increased.
This was revealed by Police Minister Bheki Cele on Friday when he released the country’s crime statistics for the third quarter of the 2020/2021 financial year.
And Cele is the first to admit that the stats made for grim reading.
“Mpumalanga province recorded the highest increase of 13.7% (murder) when compared to the corresponding period in the previous financial year.
“Limpopo, North West and Northern Cape provinces recorded a decline in their murder cases. 193 of the murders were as a result of domestic violence,” Cele said.
In the Western Cape, Kraaifontein has replaced Delft in recording the most murders.
Commenting on the stats, Community Safety Minister Albert Fritz noted that of the 30 stations reporting the highest number of murders in the country, 11 are in the Western Cape.
“There were increases in murders compared to the previous quarter in every station in the province, excluding Gugulethu which saw a 11.3% decrease compared to the previous quarter.”
Cele said that the top four causative factors of murders were arguments, robberies at a household and businesses, mob justice incidents and gang-related killings, with a total of 2 481 people murdered in public places like on the street, open field, parking areas and abandoned buildings.
“1 643 murders occurred at the home of the victim or of the perpetrator, while liquor outlets were the third most likely place to be killed in South Africa. Overall, contact crimes committed against a person decreased by 1.4%.”
The minister also revealed that 12 218 people were raped between October and December.
Over 4 900 of the rape incidents took place at the home of either the victim or rapist.