Infographic: National Crime Statistics - 2014/15

The Minister of Police released the national crime statistics on Tuesday 28 September 2015. Trends show that there has been an increase in contact crimes (0.9%) and contact related crimes (1.9%). Property related crimes decreased by 0.8% and there was a continued overall decrease in crimes against women and children. The Minister also emphasised that violent crime cannot be solved by SAPS alone, because it was a ‘societal ill’. The work done by interest groups and non-governmental organisations around sexual offences‚ and the subsequent drop in those statistics (5.4%) pointed to the role that society has to play in reducing the numbers.

There has been mixed reactions to the statistics. Some questioned the validity of the statistics, while others acknowledged the numbers, but also noted that crime remained a serious challenge in South Africa. See infographic below for a breakdown of the crime statistics:

For an infographic on the number of police officers killed on and of duty, click here infographic.

For infographics on a range of topics,see here.