| 2025/03/04 |
|
Media Statement
POLOKWANE – The Limpopo Provincial Crime Statistics for the 2nd and 3rd quarters of the 2024/2025 financial year were officially released on 3 March 2025 at the Landbank Building in Polokwane. This follows the national crime statistics announcement by Minister of Police, Mr. Senzo Mchunu, on 21 February 2025. The session was attended by distinguished guests, including the MEC for Transport and Community Safety, Ms. Violet Mathye, HOD for Transport and Community Safety, Mr Steve Matjena, the Provincial Head: Civilian Secretariat for Police, Ms. Nhlane-Mthimkulu, Deputy Provincial Commissioners, District Commissioners, senior SAPS officials, Labour Union representatives, key strategic partners such as CPF, community leaders and members of the media. Presenting the statistics, Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe highlighted a decline in most crime categories, attributing this success to targeted high-density operations (Shanela/Kukula) in hotspot areas and awareness campaigns in crime riddled communities. She also attributed the crime combatting efforts to the enlistment of 553 Police Constables who reinforced the capacity of various police units, thus enhancing visibility and crime prevention. A total of 30,063 suspects were arrested in the 2nd Quarter (July – September 2024) and 28,946 in the 3rd Quarter (October – December 2024). Overall crime decreased by 3.1%, with property crime down by 0.5% and other serious crimes down by 6.8%. Murder increased by 2.5% in 2nd quarter but saw a significant 29.5% decrease in the 3rd quarter. The province also recorded a decrease in rape cases by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter and 2.7% in 3rd quarter. Sexual assault increased by 7.3% in 2nd quarter but saw a 0.8% decrease in 3rd quarter. A total of 1,170 years of imprisonment and 47 life sentences were handed down to gender-based violence offenders. Despite this remarkable improvement in our crime, we continue to monitor this category. These stations continue to be on our radar, Thohoyandou, Mankweng, Seshego and Maake as well as other police stations. Robbery and Property Crimes: Non-residential robbery decreased by 4.7% in 2nd Quarter and 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Common robbery declined by 6.0% in 2nd quarter and 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. House and commercial robberies remain a concern, prompting calls for increased community involvement in crime prevention. Over 3,400 drug-related arrests were effected in 2nd and 3rd quarter. While we report a 2.5% increase in murder in the second quarter, we celebrate a remarkable 29.5% decrease in the third quarter. This positive trend is further supported by a 13.2% decrease in attempted murder in the second quarter and a slight reduction of 0.1% in the third quarter which clearly indicate that our strategies are making a significant impact. The Provincial Commissioner of SAPS in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Hadebe emphasized the importance of community-police collaboration and urged residents to report criminal activities. The MEC for Transport and Community Safety, Ms Violet Mathye commended SAPS for their unwavering commitment to crime reduction and maintaining peace in Limpopo. She further indicated that any death through murder is one too much. “We note the relative calm in the taxi industry, thanks to the role players being the departmental taxi unit and SANTACO. We have learnt that discussions are a solution to conflicts than through the barrel of a gun. We, however, are concerned with the new phenomenon of extortion by the taxi patrollers who force motorists to pay a fee if they are found to be loading passengers,” concluded the MEC. Ends
Enquiries:
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/SAPoliceService
|
|
|
| Additional content: |
|
|
