Minister Fritz notes release of Quarter 2 crime stats

Minister Fritz notes release of Quarter 2 crime stats, welcomes news of a decrease in murder rate

Today, the Minister of Community Safety, Albert Fritz, notes the presentation of the second quarter crime statistics to the Portfolio Committee on Police this morning, and welcomes news of a decrease in the murder rate in the Western Cape.

Whereas murder increased by 20.7% in the country when compared with the same period in 2020/21, it stabalised in the Western Cape with two fewer cases. Whereas there were 1013 murders over the same period in 2020/21, in this second quarter there were 1011.

SAPS reported 131 gang-related murders in the Western Cape in quarter two, compared to 187 murders in quarter 1. There were no murders at farms or small holdings in the Western Cape for this period.

There were also decreases in most crime categories, with total contact crime down by 6.4%; attempted murder down by 15.4%; assault GBH down by 3.1%, and; common assault down by 6.9%.

While robbery with aggravated circumstance decreased by 9.3%, common robbery increased by 2%.

Minister Fritz said, “we welcome this stabalisation. We see it as a confirmation that we are on the right track with our Safety Plan. Importantly, we do not see this as a victory, as much more still needs to be done. But we do celebrate it as it means that we are on the right track.”

Minister Fritz concluded, “while these figures are encouraging, it should not cause us to sit back. We need much more policing resources, especially in our poorer communities. And we will continue to fight for that. The Western Cape’s Policing Needs and Priorities is a clear indication of this. For our part, we look forward to the launch of the next 200 LEAP officers, which will bring the total LEAP officers deployed to our crime hotspots to more than 1000 officers. We must do more. And we will continue to do more. We are fighting for safer communities, and we will not rest until our communities are safe.”

Minister Fritz and the Department of Community Safety will be studying the report in greater detail over the coming days, and will release a further  statement next week.