Sexual offences, rape on the rise 

North West – The South African Police Services (SAPS) in North West Province recorded an increase in the number of sexual offences and rape cases, according to the fourth quarter statistics of the 2021/22 financial year.  

The fourth quarter covers the period from January to March 2022. 

The statistics reveal that 942 sexual offences were recorded during these three months in the province. This reflects an increase of 12.1% when compared to the 840 cases recorded during the same period of the previous financial year. 

The statistics also reveal that 769 rape cases were recorded in the fourth quarter of the current financial year. This represents a 10.8% increase when compared to the 694 cases recorded during the previous financial year.  

 
However, the statistics also reflect a 22.3% drop in the number of murder cases that were recorded during the fourth quarter. A total of 214 murder cases were recorded from January to March 2022, compared to the 175 cases recorded during the same period of the previous financial year.  

According to specialist investigator of serious violent and serious economic crimes, Mike Bolhuis, visible policing is an important aspect of crime prevention. “If crime is being committed in a specific area and there is no visible policing to deal with that crim, then it cannot be prevented and there will be no punishment for the perpetrator,” Bolhuis said. 

“Criminals commit crime because they know they can get away with it. They keep getting bail and continue committing crimes,” he added.

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