Parliament, Saturday, 24 May 2025 – The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Mr Ian Cameron, welcomed the general decrease in crime statistics from the fourth quarter crime statistics that was delivered by the Minister of Police, Mr Senzo Mchunu yesterday.
Mr Cameron said that crime remains too high and the decrease trajectory should be maintained in order to entrench the values of safety and security in South Africa. Furthermore, Mr Cameron emphasised that the current high arrest of the law breakers and the low translation of that into conviction is a direct threat of the objective of reducing the high levels of crime and to pushing back the frontiers of crime in South Africa in the end.
“While the nominal decreases are welcomed, the reality on the ground is that the people especially vulnerable communities continue to feel unsafe, and crime continues to deny them the constitutional right to free movement on the streets, and women are brutalised daily. The decrease should be a stepping stone for further decreases and to add more value in the broader campaign of combating crime,” Mr Cameron emphasised.
The fourth quarter statistics point to a need for a concerted action in the four provinces that continue to have high numbers of murder in the national crime statistical reports. Mr Cameron said while the murder rate has decreased, the 5 727 people killed between January to March is unacceptably high.
It is concerning that the conviction rate remains low yet there is a proliferation of illegal firearms that are used to pursue crime that continues to kill law abiding South Africans. The City of Cape Town Metro Police and Municipal Law Enforcement confiscated over 1670 firearms since 2021, but only 5% convictions were successfully secured out of the crimes that were perpetrated by those firearms. Clearly there is a leakage in the system of passing cases from members of the South African Police Service (SAPS), to forensic testing and to prosecution. A large number of fire arms that were successfully confiscated from those who illegally possessed them is confirmed to being returned to the hands of criminals in Cape Town although the City Police has a track record of confiscating illegal firearms again.
Mr Cameron has called for a decentralised approach to be urgently tested regarding gang violence in the Cape Flats, where the City and the Western Cape Provincial government, as legislation allows, investigates gang related cases, do forensics as well as intelligence gathering. This would inadvertently alleviate pressure from the overstretched SAPS and yield positive results regarding gang investigations, and inevitably lead to successful convictions.
“An effective criminal justice system should be interconnected, and the failure of one element in the system negatively affects the entire system. The low conviction rate is currently the gravest cause of the weakness of the entire system,” Mr Cameron emphasised.
Mr Cameron also highlighted the growing concern about the lack of headway in reducing sexual offences. This is compounded by the lack of progress in resolving the forensic science laboratory challenges in the country. “While plans are being made to find permanent solutions to the forensic science labs, the reality is that these solutions do not come fast enough and that impacts on the ability of the system to convict the alleged rapists,” Mr Cameron emphasised.
While Inanda station remains number one station regarding murder rate, the 21,3% reduction highlights the importance of community collaboration in fighting crime. “During our recent visit to the station, we were impressed by the collaboration between the SAPS and members of the community. The committee also appreciated the commitment by SAPS members to do their work,” said Mr Cameron.
The Chairperson remains concerned that KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Western Cape and Eastern Cape continue to contribute to the crime statistics in the country. The Chairperson reiterated the need for the leadership of these provinces to intensify efforts to combat crime and to work with communities to strengthen policing.
The Chairperson has also reiterated that intelligence-led policing holds the key to combating crime in general. Also, the capacitation of the investigation capability within the SAPS remains a source of concern. Successful prosecutions depend on the completion of investigations, the speedy finalisation of ballistic and DNA reports and the gathering of sufficient evidence.
Mr Cameron condemned in the strongest terms the continuation of the maiming of police officers by criminals. The 22 officers that were killed between January and March 2025 is a glaring evidence of the direct attack on the state by criminals. “It remains unacceptable that criminals are emboldened enough to raise their firearms at police officers. Attack to police officers is intolerable as their purpose and role in the society is to safeguard the society,” Mr Cameron said.
The Chairperson has called for the implementation of the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between the SAPS and various municipalities. According to him this collaboration will add value and translate into a meaningful contribution in the fight against crime at local level.
The committee will schedule a meeting where the statistics will be analysed and possible solutions found. “We reiterate that crime demands full participation of all to overcome it. Let us ensure that criminals who are arrested are prosecuted,” Mr Cameron said.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON POLICE, MR IAN CAMERON.
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