ROB DAVIES, Johannesburg | Wednesday 10.10am.
STATISTICS on the incidence of serious crime for the period between January and June 1998 released by the South African Police Service’s Crime Information Management Centre in Parliament on Tuesday shows that violent crime has increased in South Africa, with farm attacks in particular shooting through the roof.
Attacks on farms and smallholdings are becoming more frequent, with 364 attacks reported from January to June 1998, compared to the corresponding 1997 figure of 211 attacks. An increase of 72,5%, or almost two attacks per day.
According to the report, farm attacks in KwaZulu-Natal escalated by 43,8%, with 69 attacks taking place in the first half of 1998, compared to 48 over the same time last year.
Gauteng has experienced a dramatic rise in the number of attacks, with 85 attacks reported during the study period in 1998, compared to 13 attacks last year — an increase of 553,8%.
The Western and Eastern Cape have also shown meteoric rises in the number of attacks with an increase in the Eastern Cape of 206,3% and in the Western Cape of 250%. In the Eastern Cape 49 attacks were reported during the study period, while 14 were reported in the Western Cape.
Attacks in Mpumalanga and the Northern Province have dropped, but only by 3,4% and 20% respectively. In 1997, 59 attacks were reported in Mpumalanga, while in the first half of 1998 57 attacks were reported.
In the Northern Province attacks are down from 25 to 20.
Vehicle hijackings have also showed an increase according to the report, with 7073 cases reported from January to June 1998, compared to the corresponding figure last year of 6395, an increase of 10,6%.
The number of murders on police officials in the 1998 period has not drastically rocketed, but still shows an increase of 3,4%. In the first half of 1998, 120 police officials were killed compared to the corresponding period last tear when 116 were killed.
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