Acting police minister Firoz Cachalia. (@Prof_Cachalia/X)
South Africa has recorded significant declines in most crime categories across the last six months, acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said on Friday, noting that the improvements may surprise a public weary of violent crime.
However, some categories, such as sexual offences and gender-based violence and commercial crime, remain “stubbornly high”, said Cachalia.
He was appointed earlier this year after President Cyril Ramaphosa suspended Senzo Mchunu over his alleged role in corruption and political interference in the criminal justice system.
“There is some improvement … I know that given our concerns about crime, it may come as a surprise. But I can indicate that the way in which the stats are compiled by the South African Police Service (SAPS) meets the highest standards for statistical accuracy,” Cachalia said as he presented the quarterly crime statistics for the periods April and June, as well as July and September.
“Importantly, we are seeing ongoing and significant reductions in serious and violent crimes, but … one rape, one murder and one assault is of course one too many.”
The minister said murder had started to decrease significantly, particularly in the last two years, which was often a “very good indicator of crime trends because if you track the murder rate, it does tell a story about violent crime in general”.
He noted that there was a period of 15 years into the country’s democratic transition where the murder rate dramatically decreased — and then started increasing again.
“Now we’re seeing a decrease, and that gives me some hope. We’ve also seen double-digit reductions in most forms of robbery.”
He noted that sexual offences, gender-based violence and commercial crime persisted at high levels.
On the latter, Cachalia added: “We are continuing to record increases here, which is a trend over the last five years. Much of this is now taking place online, so it’s also related to technological change.”
With support from the Joint Initiative on Crime and Corruption — a partnership with the private sector — the police are exploring ways to strengthen their capacity to fight this digitised crime.
“While we can take heart in the downward trends in violent crime, we can also say that the overall levels remain unacceptably high. This is not a time to rest. Further progress is possible over time, but it requires assistance and determination,” the minister said.
The possibilities for improvement and progress depend on the involvement of government, civil society, businesses and communities, all working together, he said, urging residents to join community safety forums, policing forums and block watch initiatives.
Police ‘reset’
In a candid address, Cachalia acknowledged public anger, fear and frustration, calling for a “reset” of policing and a deeper, society-wide effort to tackle the causes of crime.
“I want to speak to those families and communities who are worried, who are afraid, and who are angry about the state of crime,” he said. “I know what it feels like to be mugged in the streets or raided in one’s home. Too many criminals still escape justice.”
He noted that many people turn to crime in the absence of opportunity, in environments shaped by drugs, gang activity and alcohol abuse.
“As we address the causes of crime, we must understand that crime and violence are always unacceptable,” he said, emphasising the responsibilities of social departments, provinces and municipalities in prevention work.
“We must invest in ensuring our children are well fed, and our youth have opportunities.”
But he stressed that some offenders act from “greed and a lust for power”, orchestrating networks that steal public funds, traffic drugs and weapons, and entrench corruption.
Organised crime: national security threat
Cachalia warned that organised crime networks pose a direct threat to public safety, the economy and South Africa’s democratic institutions. These syndicates — linked to kidnappings, vehicle hijackings, gang violence and cash-in-transit heists — infiltrate political parties and state procurement systems.
Criminal networks infiltrate political parties, government departments and procurement systems to steal public funds.
“These criminals, as we have seen recently, wear fancy suits and designer clothes, pretending that they are legitimate business people. This is why the Madlanga Commission and the parliamentary ad-hoc committee [into alleged criminal infiltration of the SAPS] are so important for the future of criminal justice in our country.”
He cited the large-scale theft of funds from the Gauteng health department via Tembisa Hospital as an example of criminal activity that doesn’t appear in crime statistics but severely harms communities.
“We have seen the damage that state capture has done. Capture continues in different forms.”
Cachalia called for “focused, specialist capabilities” built on collaboration between police, prosecutors, regulators, the South African Revenue Service and the private sector.
“We must follow the money and hit the criminals where it hurts – in their pockets.”
He said the integrated anti–gang violence strategy — now being implemented in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal — is beginning to show early signs of progress.
Prosecutors in the Western Cape are now working directly with detectives on case dockets, and community structures are engaging closely with the provincial commissioner.
Professionalising the police
Cachalia said a professional, politically independent police service is central to public safety.
“When policing is inconsistent, corrupt or abusive, public fear grows, cooperation fails, and crime thrives,” he said.
He stressed that allegations triggering the Madlanga Commission involved a small group of officers and should not undermine confidence in the majority of the SAPS’s 187 000 employees.
“Most are doing the best they can under extraordinarily difficult and dangerous conditions.”
Recent examples of integrity — such as a DPCI officer who refused a R100 000 bribe in the Tembisa Hospital corruption case — show that “there are people of honour in the SAPS”, he said.
Cachalia said the integrated crime and violence prevention strategy, driven by the Civilian Secretariat for Police, focuses on early childhood development, reducing gender-based violence and addressing the community conditions that allow crime to take root.
On the present crisis of GBV, he offered: “We have implemented important policy initiatives over the past 30 years, but the results are disappointing, because this is a deeply-rooted societal problem and obviously policing … is not the only answer.”
Cachalia said he had commissioned Deputy Police Minister Polly Boshielo to identify the gaps and where improvements can be made. An additional R40 million was allocated last week to strengthen the police’s efforts in empowering victims.