The SA Police Service has made great strides in reducing serious crime levels, although certain categories of crime have increased, National Commissioner Jackie Selebi said on Monday.
Briefing the media on the SAPS annual report for 2002/03 — tabled in Parliament on Monday — he said murders dropped by 1,3% during the period under review, and rape by 5,3%.
Since 1994, the incidence of murder had now dropped by 29,5%, Selebi said.
The report covers the financial year April 1, 2002, to March 31 this year.
According to the report, almost two-thirds of all murders committed in South Africa last year occurred in only one-third of the country’s nine provinces: KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Western Cape.
The document, which gives no absolute figures, only ratios, states there were 47,4 murders per 100,000 of the country’s population during 2002/03, compared to 48,0 per 100,000 during 2001/02.
”A majority of 65% of all murders occurred in only three provinces, namely KwaZulu-Natal (25%), Gauteng (23%) and the Western Cape (17%),” it states.
Internationally, murder is seen as the most reliable crime trend, as the definition of murder does not really differ from country to country.
”It is furthermore very difficult to over or under-report murder or to hide a murder forever.”
The report puts the number of attempted murders at 78,9 per 100,000 (up from 70,2 in 2001/02), assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm at 585,9 (down from 592,4), and common assault at 621,6 (up from 587,7).
It says the number of rapes dropped from 121,8 per 100,000 in 2001/02 to 115,3 in 2002/03 — the lowest since 1994/95.
Selebi said there was a significant decrease in high profile (sensational) cases of aggravated robbery.
Hijacking of motor vehicles dropped by 20,2%, and bank-related robberies (bank robberies and cash-in-transit heists) by 15,4%.
Both these categories of crime had reached the lowest levels since 1996/97.
However, other aggravated robberies, street robbery, and housebreaking had increased, Selebi said.
Increases in various robbery categories, and the recent spate of ”violent and horrendous crimes”, remained a concern to the SAPS.
Police had made enormous efforts to reduce levels of serious crime.
This occurred against a backdrop of increasing generators of conditions conducive to crime, such as rapid urbanisation, changing demographics in society, increasing number of households, and increasing levels of substance abuse.
With the exception of aggravated robbery (up by 6,6%), the SAPS had reached most of its targets set out in the National Crime Combating Strategy (NCCS) for reducing the incidence of murder, rape and assault.
Commercial crime dropped by 5,7%, theft of motor vehicles by 5,8%, and theft out of motor vehicles by 3,6%.
But, other thefts and malicious damage to property increased by 5,4% and 5,9% respectively.
Selebi said the increase in other thefts should be understood within the context that this crime mainly involved the loss of small and often not uniquely identifiable items, such as money, jewellery, cellphones, and tools.
According to the annual report, contact crimes, or crimes against the person, such as murder and attempted murder, rape and attempted rape, assault, and aggravated robbery, accounted for 39,9% of serious crime reported. – Sapa