Crime stats: Minister Cele is losing the war on crime and should lose his job for it
17 February 2023
ActionSA is extremely concerned after the release of the recent crime statistics that paints a picture that the South African Police Service (SAPS) has completely lost control of the war against crime in this country despite protestations by the minister to the contrary.
Despite Police Minister Bheki Cele’s populist rhetoric, the crime statistics for the period of October to December 2022 show that his leadership has been unable to change the worsening trajectory of crime in South Africa.
It is concerning that there has been an increase in crime on all levels, particularly with a 10.1% increase in murders and a 9.8% increase in instances of rape - showing to an extent the safety of South Africans is compromised.
The only decrease reported was in sexual offences: taking into account the inability of SAPS to provide a safe environment for victims of sexual abuse, this decrease only proves that fewer sexual offences were reported, not that the number of sexual offences decreased.