Police Minister Senzo Mchunu released the crime statistics for the fourth quarter of the 2024/25 financial year at the Government Communication and Information System offices in Pretoria on Friday (23/5).

Reported serious crimes are subdivided into four broad categories: contact, contact-related, property-related, and other serious crimes. The Park Road police station was sixth in the top 30 stations nationally, with reported serious crimes.

“During this quarter, sexual offences, including rape and contact sexual offences, along with commercial crime, have shown increases,” said Mchunu. “These are deeply concerning trends that demand renewed focus and urgent intervention.”

“We are encouraged that all but one province recorded decreases in murder incidents. The Northern Cape, however, recorded an increase, which cannot be ignored and will be addressed with targeted actions.”

We do want to assure South Africans that the SAPS prioritise all types of crimes and conduct thorough investigations to ensure that justice is ultimately served, he said.

The Free State contributes a 6.4% increase nationally in contact crimes, which are crimes against a person. Thabong police station recorded a 9.6% decrease in contact crimes and was named number one in the provincial position of reported serious crimes.

Arguments, misunderstanding, road rage, and provocation were the biggest causes of murders in the Free State, reporting 68 incidents from January to March. Most of these murders occurred in a public place.

“We welcome the downward trajectory of the crime statistics in the past three quarters of the previous financial year,” said National Police Commissioner Gen. Fannie Masemola.

“And we continue to strategically redirect our operational direction and response to address stubborn violent crimes, while carefully guided by the weekly crime statistics that we analyse together with Provincial Commissioners every Monday for the past two years.”

The successes reported during this period are done to promote transparency and also to communicate conviction rates and arrests for the crimes committed during the same period, he said.

In the third quarter statistics, the Free State recorded almost half of the national murders recorded in farming communities, which included two farm workers, one farmer, one farm dweller, and one security personnel.

In the fourth quarter statistics, the Free State recorded one murder of a farmer in the farming community.

OFM News/Zenande Mpame cg