First Quarter 2021/22 Crime Stats extremely worrying
20 August 2021
Today's release of the national Crime Statistics for the First Quarter of this year (2021/22), from 1 April to 30 June 2021, is extremely worrying. The increase in violent, heinous contact crimes, together with the onslaught of crime on private property, vehicles, businesses, and individuals, is proof that our police service is unable to keep South Africans safe.
Contact crimes, such as murder, attempted murder, sexual offences, and all categories of assault, registered a 60.6% increase. These shocking numbers reflect a SAPS management in complete disarray, with police officers executing orders that have no real impact on the daily lives of our people.
For 5701 people to be killed within a three-month period cannot be considered normal, in any society. To compound matters, an additional 4701 rape cases in our country clearly show that we need desperate and urgent intervention - both societal changes (social development), as well as new strategies for SAPS and all law enforcement agencies.
Based on these first quarter statistics, SAPS and the entire security cluster cannot proceed with the current strategy to fight and prevent crime. The time for business as usual is over. The tough talk and policing rhetoric must take a backseat so that we can restore the lost trust and faith in our security and policing agencies.