Cape Town — Civil society group AfriForum has questioned the accuracy and truth behind the recent police crime statistics revealed by Minister Senzo Mchunu on Friday.
Mchunu revealed that South Africa’s murder rate decreased by 9.8% during the third quarter of the 2024/2025 year compared to last year’s figures. However, AfriForum questioned whether the stats capture the full reality that communities in South Africa face.
“Although the Minister’s positive attitude towards promoting cooperation between communities and law enforcement is commendable, AfriForum remains sceptical about the latest crime statistics,” says Jacques Broodryk, AfriForum’s Chief Spokesperson for Community Safety said in a statement.
Broodryk said that AfriForum’s neighbourhood and farm watches deal with crimes at a grassroots level and they did not notice any significant differences in crime patterns, instead noting burglaries and stock thefts every week.
“AfriForum’s concerns are further compounded by the findings of the Auditor-General, who last year revealed serious inaccuracies in the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) crime statistics,” Broodryk said.
Afname in misdaad of gebrekkige rekordhouding deur SAPD? @AfriForum skepties oor jongste statistiek https://t.co/hdsYIbmLH6 pic.twitter.com/JqlGAYG9eL
— AfriForum (@afriforum) February 21, 2025
Poor record-keeping, mismanagement of dockets and the failure to utilise crime statistics to successfully fight crime have undermined SAPS’ ability to combat crime at a grassroots level. He said if SAPS were unable to accurately record crim in the country, how could it combat it successfully?
“AfriForum continues to advocate for the devolution of policing powers to regional and local levels, allowing communities to better respond to their specific safety challenges. Farm attacks and other rural crimes require specialised rural policing units that are familiar with the environment and have a steady stream of local crime intelligence,” he said.
Broodryk also mentioned gang violence, taxi violence and illegal mining operations as key areas to address and said it requires law enforcement strategies that are specific to the areas.
“This is just one of the reasons why the devolution of policing powers makes sense,” he added.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
