Accuracy of crime stats debatable - ISS
The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) believes the murder rate is probably the most accurate crime statistic from the police since it's very hard to avoid dead bodies.
The country’s latest crime statistics show that murder increased by 3.4% while sexual offences, including rape and sexual assault, rose by 4.6% and attempted murder by 4.1%.
There were 21 022 murders in the 2018/19 financial year - 686 more than the previous year.
ISS specialist Johan Burger says the police is under pressure to deal with internal issues such as corruption and the effects of state capture and this is impacting negatively on the fight against crime.
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Burger was speaking after the release of the 2018/19 crime stats which showed that most contact crimes have increased.
He said the accuracy of the other statistics is debatable.
"I think in terms of reported crime we know murder is one of those crimes that's most reliable because you have a dead body which is difficult to hide. With other crimes, sexual offences, for example, have a very low reporting rate and so this is why we don't pay too much attention to the police's stats.
"So the extent to which the police-reported crime reflect our crime situation is a debatable issue at this stage."
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