Over 7,000 murdered in three months: whooping rise in crime rate is ‘worrying’ S.Africa

South Africa has seen more than 7,000 people murdered over three months and the latest quarterly crime statistics show a whooping rise in murder, rape and kidnapping figures compared with the same time last year.

Quarterly figures showed that the murder rate rose 14% between July and September, compared with the same timeframe in 2021, when 6,163 people were killed, according to new police statistics.

South Africa’s parliamentary portfolio committee on police heard earlier this week details of the crime statistics that records those crimes reported to the South African Police Service (SAPS) from 1 July to 30 September 2022. Carjackings rose 24% to more than 6,000. And with more than 550 children killed between April and September, “the crime statistics again show that we, as communities, continue to fail to protect some of the most vulnerable in society: our children,” Police Minister Bheki Cele told a news conference.

Almost 1,000 women were among those murdered during the period in 2022. More than 13,000 women were also victim of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and 1,277 women were victims of attempted murder. “The rate at which women are abused, violated and some killed in South Africa remains worrying and unacceptable,” Cele said. The figures also showed that kidnappings doubled to more than 4,000 compared with the same time last year; and rapes, in a country notorious for sex attacks against women and children, were up 11%, with 10,000 cases opened across the country. The police minister promised that 10,000 new recruits would be ready to join the police force before the Christmas and New Year period, when crime typically rises.