Attention editors: please see English audio clip by MPP Gillion Bosman attached.
The South African Police Service today released the crime statistics for the second quarter of 2023. Between the months of April and June 2023, the Western Cape lead the country in reducing rape, with the largest year-on-year reduction of 10.1% since the same period last year. In the same time period, the Western Cape saw a strong 5.5% reduction in murder, proving that the Western Cape Safety Plan is working.
Compared to the national rate, the proportion of murders committed in the Western Cape continues its trend of decline. April 2023 to June 2023 saw 12.8% of murders committed within the bounds of the Western Cape. This stands in contrast to the same period in 2019, when 15.4% of murders were committed in the Western Cape, and the province ranked as South Africa’s most violent. Since the inception of the Western Cape Safety Plan in September 2019, the murder rate in the Western Cape has declined steadily, moving the Western Cape closer to the Safety Plan’s stated goal of halving the murder rate by 2029.
Rape has also seen a substantial decline in the province with a decline of 10.1% – the largest in South Africa, and far ahead of the national decline of 2.8%. This is gratifying to see in light of the fact that the Western Cape Government has thrown its weight behind the fight against GBVF in recent years. An integrated, whole-of-government approach – involving the Department of Health and Wellness, the Department of Social Development, and law enforcement units – appears to have paid dividends.
In large part, these gains must be attributed to the brave men and women of LEAP, who have spectacularly proven their worth in their deployments to hotspots of violence within the Western Cape. Just last month, LEAP Officers confiscated 30 illegal firearms, and arrested 1 098 suspects. Of these, 699 were arrested for possessing or dealing in drugs, thus directly reducing income for the gangs which continue to plague our province. LEAP patrols also play a vital part in increasing visibility in the areas to which they are deployed. This goes some way to explaining the fact that the Western Cape is the only province to see a year-on-year reduction in contact crime this quarter.
However, even one instance of rape, murder, or any other crime remains unacceptable, and LEAP is unable to shoulder the burden alone. Concerns remain over the number of SAPS units in the province, with a recent briefing at the Provincial Legislature revealing that the Western Cape SAPS complement has fallen below 20 000, and that there are not enough SAPS members in the Western Cape to meet SAPS’s own minimum targets for keeping our people safe. Were this situation resolved, the Western Cape would doubtless see further reductions in crime across the board.
DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Community Safety Gillion Bosman says: “While there is still a long way to go, it is a relief to see progress being made, and to see our province moving forward in the fight against crime. If we stay on track and the space is given to this government to expand vital crime fighting initiatives, we will achieve our goal of halving the murder rate by 2024.”