Action Society is deeply concerned about the growing mistrust in the South African Police Service (SAPS), reinforced yet again by the latest crime statistics released today by Police Minister Nchunu and Crime Registrar of the SAPS, Major-General Thulare Sekhukhune. Even though the Minister announced better plans to combat crime and measures to try and decrease the DNA backlog, the proof will be in the pudding in the next quarter and practical and effective plans should have been implemented many years ago. The reality is that the current crime stats still reflect a deeply entrenched crisis of violent crime and the greater concern lies in the systemic failure of SAPS to effectively respond, investigate, and deliver justice.
Across communities, South Africans are losing faith in the very institution meant to protect them. With unsolved murders, rapes, and robberies stacking up year after year, confidence in centralised policing has eroded beyond repair. The one-size-fits-all approach of national policing has proven incapable of meeting the unique safety needs of provinces, municipalities, and local communities.
Action Society maintains that the long-term solution lies in the constitutional decentralisation of policing powers. Localised control would allow communities to tailor policing strategies, improve accountability, and ensure better response and investigative capacity — something the current SAPS model has consistently failed to deliver.
“People are not just afraid of crime — they’re afraid that no one will come when they call for help. We have become so used to our high crime rates that we think it is normal to only have your house ransacked, but at least you weren’t killed. Or you only report something as stolen because you need the case number for an insurance claim. It is not normal, and we do not trust that the police, managed from an ivory tower in Pretoria, will help us. The trust deficit is a crisis. The system is broken, and one of the most obvious solutions is decentralising policing in South Africa. Let our own local police help us and be accountable if they fail us,” says Juanita du Preez, spokesperson for Action Society.
The South African Police Service’s Q4 2024/25 crime statistics reveal that the police are still failing to combat crime effectively and keep South Africans safe. During this three-month period alone, 5 727 murders were recorded — averaging 1 909 per month, 64 per day, or 3 every hour. Attempted murders reached 6 985, which translates to 2 328 monthly, 78 daily, and 3 hourly. For this period, 10 688 rapes were recorded, with 119 women being raped per day, almost 5 every hour.
Sexual offences remained alarmingly high at 13 452 cases for the quarter — that’s 149 each day, or over 6 every hour. The most widespread violent offence, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH), stood at 43 776 incidents, amounting to 14 592 per month, 486 per day, and more than 20 every hour.
