Lusikisiki surpasses KZN's Inanda as SA rape capital

Cele said he believes the quarter's figures are an indication that some of the policing shortcomings have been addressed.

There was an overall 8.5% decline in contact crimes including sexual offences, common assault, and robbery.

But the murder rate has been slow to respond to Cele's efforts, with close to 5000 people killed in the first three months of 2021.

This is an increase of 8.4%.

"The top four causative factors of these murders still remain arguments, robberies, both residential and non-residential and street robberies, mob justice and gang-related incidents," said Cele.

The Eastern Cape and the KwaZulu-Natal recorded double digit increases, standing at 21.5% and 16.9% respectively, while Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Free State and Northern Cape recorded decreases in their murder cases.

"The murder trend is fully worrying. The question of many people dying of small incidents is something that we are trying to work on it as the South African Police."

Cele added rape and gender-based violence remains a thorn in their back, with more than 9500 rapes reported during the period.

"This is a decrease of 387 cases, amounting to an almost 4% decrease compared to the previous reporting period," Cele said.

"A sample of 6 893 of the rape incidents revealed that 4 130 of such incidents took place at the home of the victim or the home of the alleged rapist."

The Lusikisiki police station in the Eastern Cape recorded the highest incidents of rape, overtaking the Inanda station

"We remain encouraged that rapists can be brought to book through the availability and access to "rape kits" at all police stations. Moreover, a DNA recovery plan is in place to progressively clear the DNA backlogs experienced at SAPS Forensic Science laboratories.

"The nation is assured that we are working around the clock to clear the backlog and GBV cases are being prioritised. The delays have been severe we admit, but 42% of dockets for crimes committed against women and children that had been outstanding for over a year, have now been finalized," he added.

Cele further lamented the role alcohol in sexual assault crimes.

"Again, communities can no longer afford to stand aside and look, they have to be part of the crime solution, by saying 'no' to alcohol abuse.

"Some communities have more taverns as compared to any other establishment, in their area of residence, including churches and schools combined. You simply cannot expect those communities to have social stability, due to the oversupply of liquor.

"It is on this score that we call upon the alcohol Industry to also be part of the solution and offer social responsibility programmes in this regard."

While Cele lauded interventions in place, he admitted more work needed to be done.

"Yes, we are making strides in many provinces that are reporting declines in various crime categories, including murder. And we are equally aware that there are some provinces regressing on the gains they previously made in the creation of safer communities.

"It is encouraging to see the emergence of some stability but also there are areas that we must still address through shifting of resources."

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