South African Police Report 5.1% Drop In Serious Crimes, Including Murder And Robbery

The South African Police Service (SAPS) on Monday revealed there has been a significant decrease in certain categories of crimes, including murder, robbery and carjacking, between July 1 and Sept. 30.

There was an overall 5.1% drop in 17 serious crimes reported by the community. Meanwhile, contact crimes fell by 3%, property-related crimes dropped by 9.9% and other serious crimes decreased by 3.4%.

"Focusing on contact crime, the statistics indicate that murder decreased by 5.8%, sexual offenses by 2.5%, and robbery with aggravating circumstances by 8.8%," Police Minister Senzo Mchunu during the release of the Quarterly Crime Statistics and Reflection on 100 Days in office at the SAPS Gauteng head office said, SA News reported.

Rape decreased by 3.1%, while robbery at residential properties dropped by 1.3% and non-residential properties saw a larger decline of 21.1%. Out of the 17 crime categories tracked, the only increases were in attempted murder, assault causing grievous bodily harm (GBH), and commercial crime. These crimes rose by 2.2%, 1%, and 18.5%, respectively.

The minister reported that Operation Shanela, which was launched in May last year to deal with crime in high-density areas, has been very successful, resulting in 262,396 arrests, 7,549 high-density operations and more than eight million actions taken.

In the second quarter of 2024/25, Public Order Policing made 2,756 arrests and seized counterfeit goods worth R22.2 million, along with 93 firearms and 846 rounds of ammunition.

Border policing efforts led to 6,610 arrests and significant seizures, including drugs valued at R498 million, firearms, explosives and stolen vehicles worth R66.9 million.

Mchunu emphasized the importance of close cooperation between the SAPS, the Justice cluster, the National Prosecuting Authority, and Home Affairs to make Operation Shanela more effective in tackling various crimes and criminals.

He added that they were working on strengthening Operation Shanela and will share their plans at the right time.

Earlier this year, Minister of Police General Bheki Cele noted that the SAPS was unapologetic in fighting against crime in the country and lauded the success of Operation Shanela.

In the last year, the operation has successfully arrested 600,000 criminals with the help of 71,000 operations across South Africa.