Concern as KZN records the highest murder rate in SA
The Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal says it is unacceptable that there was a higher number of murders in the province in the past year.
The crime statistics for the 2014/1015 financial year were released today and show a 5.4% increase in murders in KZN. It the highest murder rate in the country.
Overall, murders in the country went up by 4.6%.
At the same time, the party's Shadow Minister of Police, Dianne Kohler-Barnard has questioned the validity of the statistics.
''I don't think you actually audited the figures, physically went to the stations to dig deep and ordered the validity of them. We know of instances where an attack and beating of a civilian is recorded as theft of a cellphone.
''So that kind of audit to see that the dockets are a true reflection of the crime situation because that's what is needed, a proper audit,'' she said.
After presenting the latest crime figures to Parliament today, National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega called for communities to help the police fight crime.
''Indeed there is a need for peaceful surroundings to avoid escalations to unnecessary crime.
''These peaceful surroundings are found in our families, community surroundings, social institutions, schools and many other areas,'' she said.
Robbery-related crime has also seen an increase, while there's been a decrease in crimes including sexual offences and assault.
The statistics also show there was a rise in violent service delivery protests which required police to be deployed.
Illegal immigrants are also said to be a contributing factor to the crime situation in the country.