CRIME STATS | More than 60 children murdered in Gauteng in three months

At least 61 children were murdered in Gauteng from January to March this year.

This was revealed in the fourth quarter crime statistics released by provincial police top brass at the Gauteng legislature on Wednesday. In the same period, six police officers were murdered. 

Provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela said contact crimes remain a major contributor to the province’s crime stats.

“However, the category has reflected a reduction in sexual offences, assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm as well as robbery with aggravating circumstances.”

He said though there was a slight reduction in the category of robbery with aggravating circumstances, it was concerning people were easily robbed through online shopping scams and e-hailing service platforms. 

Mawela said vigilantism, mob justice, arguments, misunderstanding, road rage, provocation and robbery were the three top causative factors contributing to murders.

“It is worrying to see that some people have resorted to taking the law into their own hands, resulting in what we describe as vigilantism/ (mob justice) /community retaliation. This continues to have a negative affect on the murder rate in the province,” he said.

The province recorded 1, 556 incidents of murders in the three months.

Mawela said mob justice was a worrying phenomenon in which two or more people are killed in a single incident.

“Two separate incidents negatively affected the murder rate. We had six people murdered in one incident in Diepkloof on January 18 2023. The victims were shot at by assailants in a kombi passing next to a dumping site,” he said.

He said while six victims succumbed to gunshot wounds, five survived their injuries.

“There was an incident in Alberton where five victims were killed due to vigilantism. The community accused the victims of crimes against residents in the area,” he said.

Firearms continue to be commonly used to commit murder, followed by knives and sharp objects. 

“To successfully reduce the murder rate, we have to deal decisively with the proliferation of illegal firearms and aggressively be on the search for dangerous weapons,” Mawela said.

He said police seized 1,663 firearms, 44,142 rounds of ammunition and 1,124 dangerous weapons through targeted and crime intelligence-led operations, vehicle checkpoints and stop and searches.

At least 862 suspects were arrested for possession of unlicensed firearms. 

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