Police Minister Bheki Cele said that the statistics released on 17 February don’t paint an overall positive picture of the crime situation in South Africa, with there being an increase in violent crime between October and December 2022 indicating that the number of murder, assault and robberies experienced are rising.
Crime stats for Q3 2022 indicate a 10% year-on-year (YOY) increase with 7 555 murders recorded.
Sexual offences increased by 9.6%, rising from 14 188 to 15 545m, as well as rape (9.8%), sexual assault (4.1%) and attempted sexual offences (45.6%).
Attempted crime saw the largest YOY increase, rising to 7 016 cases (24.3%).
Common robbery (21.2%), common assault (12%), assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm (8.7%) and robbery with aggravated circumstances (10.8%) all increased YOY.
SA crime stats: Q3 2021/22 vs Q3 2022/23
| 2021/22 vs 2022/23 | Oct-Dec 2021 | Oct-Dec 2022 | Change |
| Contact Crimes | 164 953 | 184 020 | 11.6% |
| Contact-related Crimes | 31 621 | 32 187 | 1.8% |
| Property-related Crimes | 91 450 | 98 004 | 7.2% |
| Other Serious Crimes | 101 820 | 112 580 | 10.6% |
| Total public reported | 389 844 | 426 791 | 9.5% |
| Crime detected as a result of police action | 54 608 | 60 169 | 10.2% |
| Total | 444 452 | 486 960 | 9.6% |
- Contact crimes include violent crimes like murder, attempted murder and sexual offences, as well as common assault and robbery.
- Contact-related crimes include arson and malicious damage to property.
- Other serious crimes include commercial crime, shoplifting and other types of theft – while aggravated robbery includes hijackings, robbery at residences, cash-in-transit heists and bank robberies.
- Crimes detected as a result of police action cover crimes discovered by active policing, such as roadblocks and raids. This category covers the illegal possession of firearms, DUI or driving under the influence (of drugs or alcohol), as well as the use, possession or trade of illegal drugs.
Biggest increases in crime categories for 2022/23
| Category | Oct-Dec 2021 | Oct-Dec 2022 | Change |
| Attempted murder | 5 645 | 7 016 | 24.3% |
| Shoplifting | 10 451 | 12 888 | 23.3% |
| Common robbery | 10 524 | 12 752 | 21.2% |
| Burglary at non-residential premises | 14 408 | 16 286 | 13.0% |
| Common assault | 47 081 | 52 741 | 12.0% |
| Robbery with aggravating circumstances | 34 143 | 37 829 | 10.8% |
| All theft not mentioned elsewhere | 64 214 | 71 147 | 10.8% |
| Murder | 6859 | 7 555 | 10.1% |
| Theft out of or from motor vehicle | 20 170 | 22 173 | 9.9% |
| Truck hijacking | 448 | 492 | 9.8% |
| Sexual Offences | 14 188 | 15 545 | 9.6% |
| Assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm | 46 513 | 50 582 | 8.7% |
| Robbery at residential premises | 5 760 | 6 256 | 8.6% |
| Burglary at residential premises | 39 692 | 42 648 | 7.4% |
| Commercial crime | 27 155 | 28 545 | 5.1% |
| Carjacking | 5 455 | 5 608 | 2.8% |
| Malicious damage to property | 30 658 | 31 256 | 2.0% |
| Stock-theft | 7 404 | 7 446 | 0.6% |
| Robbery at non-residential premises | 5 138 | 49 83 | -3.0% |
| Theft of motor vehicle and motorcycle | 9 776 | 9 451 | -3.3% |
| Arson | 963 | 931 | -3.3% |
| Robbery of cash in transit | 60 | 57 | -5.0% |
| Bank robbery | 6 | 1 | -5 counts |
Crime detected as a result of police action
| Category | Oct-Dec 2021 | Oct-Dec 2022 | Change |
| Sexual offences discovered as result of police action | 1 987 | 2 785 | 40.2% |
| Drug-related crime | 36 053 | 42 504 | 17.9% |
| Illegal possession of firearms and ammunition | 3 387 | 3 932 | 16.1% |
| Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs | 13 181 | 10 948 | -16.9% |
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