SA enjoys 'crime holiday' during 3 months of lockdown: Cele

Cele attributed the "crime holiday" to the lockdown, high police visibility, and the alcohol ban, among other things. He released the crime stats, collected between 1 April to 30 June, on Friday afternoon. 

Cele did admit, however, that the stats are not a true reflection of the country's state of crime levels. 

The minister said that crime dropped in the first quarter. A total of 23 main offences out of the 24 saw a significant decline.

 "These statistics show major decreases in all crime categories compared to the same comparative period last year. 

"Indeed, the statistics we will release today, paint a never-seen-before 'rosy' picture of a peaceful South Africa experiencing a 'crime holiday'. Effectively, it was a better time for SA, as more lives were saved," said Cele. 

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"We know that the decreased crime levels were impacted largely by the fact that many of us stayed at home – and it goes without saying that the conditions for crime to thrive were not normal. 

"There were also more boots on the ground to ensure high police visibility and mass adherence to the Disaster Management Act," Cele said. 

Contact crimes which plummeted by 37.4% - which means there were 53 891 fewer cases of murder, attempted murder, assault GBH, Common robbery and common assault reported compared to the same reporting period. 

Contact related crimes - which include arson and malicious damage to property - dropped by 29,4%. 

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Burglaries at residential premises dropped by over 30% while burglary at non-residential premises - with schools and alcohol retailers being the main target - increased by 9.1%. 

There were no bank robberies during this period. 

Crime Figures vs Q1 in 2019 

Murder - 35.8% 

Sexual Offences -39.7% 

Attempted Murder -23.8% 

Assault / GBH - 41% 

Common Assault - 28.2% 

Common Robbery - 49.8% 

Robbery with Aggravating Circumstances -39.5% 

Rape -40.4% 

Sexual Assault - 35.9% 

Attempted Sexual Offences - 40.3% 

Contact Sexual Offences - 36.2% 

Carjacking - 41.2% 

Robbery at Residential Premises - 23.2% 

Robbery at Non-Residential Premises - 34.5% 

Robbery of Cash-In-Transit vans - 50% 

Bank Robbery (zero cases) 

Truck hijacking - 30% 

Contact-related Crimes -29.4% 

Arson - 32.9% 

Property-related Crimes - 29.1% 

Burglary at Residential Premises - 30.5% 

Theft of Motor Vehicles or Motorcycles -53%