Over 6,000 murders recorded in SA in first three months of 2022
The number of sexual offences reported to police in the first three months of 2022 rose 13.7% on 2021’s figures to 13,799
From January to March 2022, 6,083 people were murdered in the country, an increase of 22.2% from the same period in 2021 when 4,976 murders were recorded.
This is according to a presentation by police in parliament on Friday morning ahead of the quarterly crime statistics briefing at noon, when police minister Bheki Cele is expected to report on the details of crime.
The stats compare lockdown level 1 in 2022 with lockdown level 3 in 2021.
The number of sexual offences reported to police in the first three months of the year also increased 13.7% to 13,799, an increase of 1,666 from the same time in 2021.
The statistics only include information reported to police.
Rape cases increased 13.7% to 10,818, an increase of 1,300 from the same time in 2021.
Sexual assault cases stood at 2,165 (a 13.4% increase), attempted sexual assault at 547 (up by 26.3%) and 269 contact sexual offences were up by 1.1% on the same time in 2021.
Cape Town Central police station was top of the list of the 30 police stations that recorded the highest number of serious crimes in the first quarter of 2022.
The station recorded 2,653 serious crimes from January to March — an increase of 54.2% on 2021’s figures.
Honeydew station in Gauteng recorded the second highest numbers with 2,149 — an increase of 5.6% — followed by Durban Central with 2,037 (11.9%).
Four police stations in the top 30 recorded a lower number when compared to the previous year. This includes Pinetown and Plessislaer in KwaZulu-Natal with 1,516 and 1,494 respectively, a difference of -7.7% and -2.1%.
Kraaifontein in the Western Cape recorded 1,450, a difference of -1%, and Witbank in Mpumalanga, with 1,366, a difference of 11%.
TimesLIVE