Johannesburg - The Freedom Front Plus (FFP) is concerned about rising crime statistics in Gauteng ahead of the festive season, as well as the SAPS's lack of a co-ordinated effort in the province.
The party said the spike in crime can be attributed to economic pressure and the police force's incompetence in combating crime.
"The FF Plus has warned the provincial commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, on several occasions that crime will continue to rise if attention is not paid to drawing up a budget that makes sufficient provision for enough equipment, vehicles, and proper training," the FFP‘s Kobus Hoffman said.
Citing the recent crime statistics delivered by the province for the three-month accounting period of July to September 2022, Hoffman said the murder rate in the province had risen by 19.4% from 1 320 to 1 579, compared to the corresponding period in 2021.
Furthermore, the statistics, he said, reveal that attempted murder increased by 28% from 1 228 to 1 575. A firearm was used in 768 of the murders, a knife in 162 of the murders, and a rock in 29 of the murders. Truck hijacking had increased by 32.4% from 253 to 335 incidents, and theft from vehicles increased by 18.5% from 4 395 to 5 210 incidents. Theft from stores increased by 30.9%, from 3 227 to 4 223.
Hoffman said these numbers were alarming considering that the festive season is upon us, adding that more than 40 police stations in the province had recorded an increase in the number of cases reported.
"It is, furthermore, alarming that the top 40 police stations in Gauteng all recorded an increase in the number of cases reported from July to September. At the Honeydew Police Station, 613 cases were reported during these three months," he said.
With the country observing 16 days of activism to end crime against children and women and after Minister Bheki Cele decried GBV, the FFP was concerned about sexual offences against children and women, which rose by 90.2% from 1 698 to 3 230 and the rape of women by 111.9% from 1 372 to 2 907. The number of children murdered increased by 30%, from 30 to 39.
"In September this year, there was a significant spike in domestic violence, which brings the figure for July to September to 9 270. The FF Plus cannot emphasise this enough: If the Gauteng police force does not take decisive action to combat crime, these figures will skyrocket during the festive season. The people of Gauteng cannot keep living in a province with an incompetent police force where no one is safe," Hoffman said.
The Star