South Africa’s murder rate has reached its highest mark in 20 years, reports News24.
This emerges from a report by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) this week shows a steady climb in the murder rate over the past decade to 45 per 100 000 in the last year.
KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Western Cape and Eastern Cape accounted for 83% of murders recorded across the country.
More than 27 000 South Africans were murdered between April 2022 and March 2023.
In 2011/2012, 15 554 murders were recorded; this number rose to 27 494, a 77% rise in the last year.
The study underscores the failure of the police under Police Minister Bheki Cele to fulfil its constitutional mandate to prevent, combat and investigate crime.
Only one in ten murder cases results in a successful prosecution.
The ISS report says improved information and analysis are essential for developing effective murder-reduction strategies.
Gareth Newham, the head of justice and violence prevention at the ISS, said that large-scale, high-visibility policing operations had failed to reduce crime over more than a decade.
‘Ideally, specific police commanders in high-murder areas should be provided with the appropriate resources and tasked with establishing partnerships to implement practical, evidence-based interventions with measurable objectives’, he said.