Crime statistics: Violent crime keeps increasing and is worrying

3 March 2017  

The first quarterly announcement of crime statistics is welcomed as the Freedom Front Plus has been asking for it for a number of years. The crime statistics for the first term which runs from 1 April 2016 until 30 September 2016 was for the first time released to the Police portfolio committee.

“Although it shows that there has been a decline of 0.03% in 17 serious crimes which are reported by the community, the public should not be misled. Contact crimes (murder, attempted murder, serious assault, ordinary assault, ordinary robbery and sexual crimes) increased in this period (0,1%), and the triple crimes (car hijackings, robberies at residential properties and robberies at non-residential properties) increased sharply by 14,3%.

“Violent crime in South Africa still increased, which is worrying. Murder (1,3%), attempted murder (0,6%) and murder with aggravating circumstances (6,9%) increased during this reporting period. All of these crimes showed a consecutive increase during the last four years, and again during this quarter,” Dr. Pieter Groenewald, the FF Plus Leader and chief spokesperson on Police, says.

“The triple crimes, i.e. robberies at residential properties (5,7%) non-residential properties (8,1%) and car hijackings (14,3%) increased sharply in the reporting period. The feared crime, robberies at residential properties, have increased for four consecutive years already – and now again in this period by 5,7%.

“Car hijackings are getting out of hand and has increased by 14,3%, and has also increased in the last four years. The general public, therefore, has justification when they say that they feel unsafe and that crime in South Africa is increasing.

“Statistics on farm murders and farm attacks show that from July 2016 until the end of December 2016, 27 farm murders occurred in 195 farm attacks,” Dr. Groenewald said.

Issued by Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus Leader, 3 March 2017