The stats show there were 21 325 murders between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020, an increase of 303.

"The 17 community reported crimes we have recorded a noticeable decrease of 2.7% as compared to an increase of 0.7 % last year," Cele said.

"Another crime category worth mentioning is that of stock theft which recorded an increase in the past three years. Last year we committed to deploying intervention measures in this regard which proved to be yielding positive results, hence stock theft has recorded a decrease of 4.2 %," said Cele.

KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest rise in the number of murders at 10.6%.

Sexual offences increased by 1.7%, an increase of 706 cases in the year, while contact crimes increased by 0.7% or 4 072 cases.

Jacaranda FM