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Crime stats point to breakdown of rule of law in SA - Cope

Police give their attention at a murder scene.
Police give their attention at a murder scene.
Image: 123RF/ prathaan

The rise in murders, attempted murder and rape are a clear indications that there is a serious breakdown in law and order in the country.

This is the reaction of the Congress of the People following the release of the national crime statistics earlier on Thursday showing a rise in violent crimes.

The statistics presented in parliament showed a 4.6% rise in sexual offences to 52,420 cases recorded in the 2018/19 reporting period, up from the 50,108 cases recorded the previous year.

Gauteng, which had the most  recorded cases, saw a 6.3% hike, as did KZN.

The stats showed that a total of 21,022 people were murdered in South Africa between April 1 2018 and March 31 this year. Attempted murder increased by  4.1%  and more than 700 murders were committed by children.

“It is totally unacceptable that each and every year the country must listen to the police leadership giving crime statistics especially on murder that increases all the time…It is clear that  nobody is safe in the country,  especially women and children. We are saying It is quite clear that this government has lost the battle against crime in the country,” said Cope spokesperson Dennis Bloem.

Crime statistics were released in a volatile climate in South Africa where the country witnessed more incidents of violence against women and children and xenophobic attacks targeting foreign nationals.

Provinces with the highest percentage increases in sexual offences were Mpumalanga, with an 8.5% rise (from 3,198 to 3,470 cases), and the Eastern Cape, with a 7.9% spike, reflecting a rise in the number of cases from 8,094 to 8,731.

Rape also increased, by 3.9%, from 40,035 cases in 2017/18 to 41,583 in 2018/19.

In Gauteng, 6,743 women opened rape cases, followed by 5,895 in KwaZulu-Natal and 5,986 in the Eastern Cape. Women between the ages of 20 and 29 opened the most rape cases..

Girls aged between 10 and 19 reported 6,852 rape cases in the past statistical period.

Inanda in KwaZulu-Natal recorded the most rape cases of any single police station (338 cases), followed by Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape (280 cases) and Thohoyandou in Limpopo (268 cases).