Civil rights organisation Action Society has expressed deep concern over the latest revelation of unsolved crimes across South Africa, reports Cape {town} Etc.
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Following the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) request in May 2024 for information on the 5.4 million case dockets that were closed without result due to insufficient evidence or leads since the 2018/2019 financial year, current Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu provided a detailed breakdown last week:
- Murder: 76 655
- Attempted murder: 40 089
- Assault GBH: 141 026
- Aggravated robbery: 256 162
- Rape: 61 740
- Sexual assault: 5 523
- Hijacking: 116 752
- Robbery (residential): 74 242
- Burglary (non-residential): 270 929
- Burglary (residential): 785 282
- Kidnapping: 9 114
At the time of the request, the total number of case dockets closed without resolution was around 5.4 million. The total now stands at more than 6.2 million, according to the figures.
In its statement, Action Society pointed out that, in addition to these cases that ‘were closed, placed in storage and never opened again’, South Africa also has a shortage of 8 500 detectives, while 527 detectives voluntarily left the force between 1 October 2023 and 19 July 2024.
‘This is a massive issue. We have repeatedly stated that we need to stop focusing only on the poorly trained troops on the ground,’ said Action Society spokesperson Juanita du Preez. ‘But we need to ensure there are specialised personnel that can investigate these cases to the very end and bring justice to victims.’
Du Preez added that South Africa has come to resemble a type of war zone over the recent years, and nobody feels safe in their homes anymore.
According to the breakdown, a total of 274 370 case dockets were closed due to insufficient evidence or leads in the Western Cape in the following categories:
- Murder: 10 035
- Attempted murder: 5 421
- Assault GBH: 13 363
- Aggravated robbery: 49 083
- Rape: 5 161
- Sexual assault: 975
- Hijacking: 10 849
- Robbery (residential): 10 125
- Burglary (non-residential): 35 918
- Burglary (residential): 132 467
- Kidnapping: 973
‘The sheer number of unsolved cases is almost unfathomable. How can things have been allowed to get this bad?’ continued du Preez, adding, however, that the organisation remains hopeful that ‘there is light at the end of the tunnel’ given the appointment of a new minister of police.
‘We have already reached out to Minister Mchunu with our suggested solutions on how we can ameliorate the crime situation in the country,’ concluded du Preez.
Meanwhile, the DA, in its statement, said it will write to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police to request that the Minister and National Commissioner be brought before the committee to present their plans to ‘remedy these critical failures within the SAPS’.
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Picture: Brenton Geach / Gallo
