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The latest set of crime statistics continues to paint a bleak picture of South Africa.

Although rape and murder have shown minor decreases from the same quarter in the previous year, the numbers are still shocking.

An average of 68 people are murdered every day in this country and an average of 101 rapes are reported daily.

For years experts have warned that the number of rapes could be even higher than reported. 

As crime rates continue to spiral and the justice system is seen as slow to give results, communities have taken the law into their own hands.

486 of the murders committed were listed as Vigilantism/Mob justice.

According to a report by researchers at the Human Sciences Research Council, March 2022, South Africans have low trust in the police. 

The research tracked patterns of public confidence in the police over the period of 1998 to 2021.

In 2021, public trust in the South African police dipped to a low of 27%.

According to the report, “not once during this 23-year interval did more than half the adult public say that they trusted the police.”

Incidents like the Marikana massacre and the July 2021 unrest only further damaged the credibility of the SAPS.

We cannot let this decline in public confidence go unchecked.

The Minister of Police, Bheki Cele and Minister of Justice, Ronald Lamola need to address the declining confidence in the country’s criminal justice system and the police’s ability to maintain law and order.

This will only be achieved when there is a dignified experience in reporting crime or reaching out for help; when you get more than a case number that never leads to any action; when the NPA prosecutes and gets convictions.

Issued by Brett Herron, GOOD: Secretary-General & Member of Parliament