The second quarter crime statistics, released on Wednesday, are — once again — grim. Reports of murder increased yet again, with at least 7,004 people murdered in South Africa between July and September 2022. SAPS also recorded a spike in kidnappings, which doubled nationally when compared to the same period last year.
“The rate at which women are abused, violated and some killed in South Africa remains worrying and unacceptable; many are killed by the people they know, people they love and trust,” said Bheki Cele, Minister of Police, at a briefing on the second quarterly crime statistics on Wednesday.
The statistics cover the second quarter of 2022/23 — between 1 July and 30 September. Cele noted that the figures were in comparison with the same period in 2021 when South Africa was still under Covid-19 lockdown levels 2, 3 and 4.
Between July and September 2022, there were 7,004 murders, an increase of 841 incidents from the same period in 2021, according to the Police Recorded Crime Statistics report for the second quarter of 2022/23. This marks an increase of 13.6%.
KwaZulu-Natal recorded the most number of murders with 1,857 people killed in the province. This was followed by Gauteng with 1,579 murders, and the Eastern Cape with 1,313 murders. Inanda and uMlazi police stations in KwaZulu-Natal, and Nyanga police station in the Western Cape recorded the most murder cases during this period. A total of 274 cases of murder were reported at these three stations.