The minister of police, Bheki Cele, has reported that there has been a drop in crime during the nationwide ‘lockdown’ because of the Covid-19 crisis.
According to Cele the initial period of the lockdown saw a significant drop in violent crime. A preliminary report comparing the period to the same dates in 2019 showed that the number of murders had dropped from over 300 to below 100, rapes from nearly 700 to 101, and serious assault from 2 673 to under 500. There had been a similar drop in vehicle hijackings.
Cele reportedly attributed the decline to the ban on the sale of alcohol during lockdown, and seemingly did not attribute the drop in the effective suspension of freedom of movement in South Africa.