Murder statistics for northern region reach amounts to a shocking 6 066 incidents for 2017/2018

Bheki Cele, the South African Minister of Police, on 11 September 2018 announced the national crime statistics for 2017/2018.

According to Cele, murder in Mpumalanga decreased by 3,4%, as attempted murder decreased by 5,7%. Theft with aggravated circumstances increased by 0,8% and normal theft showed a decrease of 13,9% the past year.

In Limpopo, murder increased by 12,1%; attempted murder increased by 6,6%; theft with aggravating circumstances increased by 4,5%; and normal theft showed a decrease of 2,2% over the past year.

Murder in Gauteng increased by 3,2%; attempted murder decreased by 8,4%; theft with aggravating circumstances decreased by 3,9%; and normal theft saw a decrease of 2,2% the past year.

The fact that 6 066 murder cases were reported to the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the northern region during the past year – Mpumalanga (922), Limpopo (911) and Gauteng (4 233) – is concerning. AfriForum will focus on the northern region to establish safety structures to proactively curb crime within the scope of the law.

“AfriForum already has established safety structures in all three of the northern provinces and want to implore community members and other safety institutions to become involved to work together to curb crime,” says Hillel Coetzer, AfriForum’s Head of Regional Safety for Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

Become involved with your local AfriForum branch: SMS your name to 45353 (R1).