Johannesburg: While South Africa’s crime levels remain unacceptably high, Cabinet has welcomed the decline in some categories of the country’s crime statistics. ‘While overall levels of crime continue to remain unacceptably high, the decline shows that interventions by the South African Police Service (SAPS) to make South Africa safer are making a difference,’ Cabinet said in a statement on Thursday.

According to South African Government News Agency, in its statement following its meeting on Wednesday, Cabinet stated that ‘Fighting crime is a shared responsibility between the police, the community and the business sector.’ This acknowledgment came as the Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, presented the Quarterly Crime Statistics for the third quarter of the current financial year (1 October 2024 – 31 December 2024) on Friday. The stats showed that there had been a decline across multiple crime categories, including a notable decline in carjackings and robberies.

The third quarter showed a 9.8% decrease in murder, a 3.3% reduction in rape, and a 3.2% drop in attempted sexual offences. At the time, the Minister said that while there was a reduction in several categories, more still needs to be done to reduce the country’s crime levels. ‘We are positioning ourselves accordingly in terms of policing whilst we continue our work throughout the whole country,’ Mchunu said.

On Thursday, Cabinet called on South Africans to play their part in the fight against crime by reporting any criminal activity to their nearest police station or calling the Crime Stop number: 08600 10111. Mchunu appealed to communities to work hand in hand with law enforcement.