MURDER has increased from 19 016 cases in 2016/17 to 20 336 in 2017/18, an increase of 6,9%.
Speaking in parliament in Cape Town on Tuesday, Police Minister Bheki Cele said the average of 57 murders a day made it similar to a war zone.
“In 2009/10 we moved the murder figures from 18 000 to 16 000. Here we are today on 20 000,” said the minister.
Seven cop shops in Cape Town appear in the top 10 stations for reported murders.
They are Nyanga, with 308 murders, followed by Philippi East, Delft, Khayelitsha, Kraaifontein, Gugulethu and Mfuleni.
The other three are Umlazi, which is second on the list, and Inanda which is fourth. Mthatha in the Eastern Cape is ninth.
When it comes to contact crime, Joburg Central cop shop leads with 5 253 counts of contact crime and Nyanga is second at 4 784.
KZN recorded 30 politically related murders, the Western Cape two and none in the other provinces. The Western Cape recorded 808 gang related murders, followed by Eastern Cape with 87.
Cash in transit heists have increased by 56,6% from 152 cases in 2016/17 to 238 in 2017/18.
Gauteng leads the taxi related murders, with 110 recorded murders, followed by the Western Cape with 45 and Eastern Cape with 39. Cele said 85 cops were killed in the past year, 28 of them on duty. He said the ratio between cops and citizens was low.
According to Cele, the United Nation’s charter on policing calls for 220 civilians per police officer but in Mzansi the figure is 383.
National Police Commissioner Kehla Sitole said their budget allowed them to recruit 3 000 cops a year but they had found a way to recruit 5 000 and from next year they will recruit 7 000 until the backlog has been cleared.
