Crime stats: ‘Season of discontent’, as Gauteng murder rates up 45.2%

14 June 2022 - 11:44
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela urged people to adopt better conflict management techniques and reduce substance abuse to reduce high crime rates.
Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela urged people to adopt better conflict management techniques and reduce substance abuse to reduce high crime rates.
Image: Screengrab via YouTube/Gauteng Provincial Legislature

Murder rates in Gauteng have increased sharply.

“The honeymoon is over,” Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela said when he presented the province’s fourth quarterly crime statistics for the 2021/22 financial year to the legislature’s portfolio committee on community safety on Tuesday morning. This covers crimes committed between January and March this year. He referred to the stats as a “season of discontent”.

Mawela said Gauteng contributed 27.6% of murder cases to the national toll. 

Assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm, common assault and robbery with aggravating circumstances contributed 33% to overall crime in Gauteng.

“The social ills within our communities are the main root causes for assault incidents.

LISTEN | Abductions and a device to track your child’s whereabouts

“Should the community adopt better acceptable means of conflict management and reduce substance abuse, surely some categories of crime, such as domestic violence, gender-based violence, murder and attempted murder, will be reduced?”

There was a 45.2% increase in murders in the province, or 1,403 people killed during this period. This is 437 more people murdered compared to the same period in 2020/2021.

Mawela said the analysis of murder cases has shown again the “majority of causative factors are arguments, misunderstandings (not domestic-related), road rage and provocation”.

He said the number included five police officers, one killed while on-duty and four who were murdered while off-duty. He said another officer was killed on Monday, raising the number to six.

TimesLIVE

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.


subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.