Detailed Analysis: Minister Fritz welcomes stabalisation of murder rate

Detailed Analysis: Minister Fritz welcomes stabalisation of murder rate; decreases in other crimes, says more must be done

Today, the Minister of Community Safety, Albert Fritz, welcomes news of the stabalisation of the murder rate, as well as consistent decreases in other categories of crime.

Minister Fritz said: “While this is good news, it is not enough. We have much more to do, if we are to ensure a safe and prosperous province. We are committed to rolling back the crime rate further, as we build on our extensive Safety Plan which is taking shape in our crime hotspots.”

The period under review in the most recent crime statistics is for Quarter 2, which runs from 1 July to 30 September every year. Below, the figures for this year (2021/2022) are compared to Quarter 2 of last year (2020/2021).

Contact Crime

In terms of contact crime, all categories saw a decrease in the Western Cape, except common robbery. Overall, contact crime decreased by 6.4% from 24,264 cases last year, to 22,702 cases this year. The largest decreases were in attempted murder (-15.4%) and sexual offences (-11.8%).

*Table 1

As can be seen in Table 1, there was a decrease of 0.9% for murder last year (2020/21), with a further decrease of 0.2% this year. There were 1,013 murders in quarter 2 of 2020/21, while this year there have been 1,011.  

Last year, sexual offences decreased by 213 cases (-11.3%), with a further decrease of 196 cases this year (11.8%). Assault with intention to do grievous bodily harm decreased by 946 cases (-16.95), with this year seeing a further decrease of 146 cases (-3.1%).

Common assault decreased by 661 cases (-7.2%) last year, and decreased by a further 583 cases (-6.9%) this year. Aggravated robbery decreased by 1,604 cases (-22.8%) last year, and decreased by a further 506 cases (-9.3%) this year.

While attempted murder increased by 91 cases (+9%) last year, this year saw a decrease of 169 attempted murder cases (-15.4%).

Common robbery is the only contact crime category that increased by 40 cases (+2.1%) in the province. Overall, total contact crime decreased by 4375 cases last year (-15.3%), and decreased by a further 1,562 cases (-6.4%) this year.

Sexual Offences

Overall, sexual offences decreased by 196 cases (-11.8%) this year, following a decrease of 213 cases (-11.3%) last year. Rape accounted for 68.7% of all sexual offences, with a total of 1,009 rape cases out of 1,468 total sexual offences.

The largest decreases were in attempted sexual offences (-23%) and contact sexual offences (-25.7%).

*Table 2

Last year saw a decrease of 120 rape in reported cases (-9.6%), with this year seeing a further decrease of 127 cases (-11.2%).

Total sexual offences are down by 196 cases (-11.8%), following on from last year’s decrease of 213 cases (-11.3%).

Sub-categories of aggravated robberies

Overall, sub-categories of aggravated robberies decreased by 270 cases (-12.9%) this year, following a decrease of 75 cases (-3.5%) last year.

*Table 3

Minister Fritz said, “These figures point to a stabilization in the Western Cape, especially if you consider the significant increases experienced nationally. Of course, there are factors that impact these findings, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the various responses to it, that need to be taken into account when undertaking a detailed analysis. But we are encouraged that things are now moving in the right direction. We must keep it that way!”

Minister Fritz continued: “What is clear to me though is that more must be done, so that this is not just a once-off decline. That is why we will continue to rollout our extensive Safety Plan, and we will keep on fighting for more policing resources from the National Government. The police to population ratios in our poorest communities remains unacceptably high. Imagine what we could achieve if this was corrected as a matter of urgency?”

Minister Fritz concluded, “I would like to thank all our staff and partners, including General Patekile and the Provincial SAPS, as well as the City of Cape Town and all municipalities, for standing with us in this fight against crime, to make our communities safe. But above all, I want to thank the citizens of the Western Cape for the role they are playing. We know that one murder is one murder too many, and that we still have a long way to go. We are determined to ensure that every person lives in a safe community. These latest figures suggest that we are on the right track, and that is something we can celebrate.”