Police minister Bheki Cele has attributed the decrease in crime to the temporary ban of liquor sales and alcohol movement amongst other factors following the Covid-19 nationwide lockdown.
Cele said murder cases have dropped from 326 this time last year to 94.
Rape cases went down from 699 to 101, assault cases with intention to inflict grievous bodily harm from 2 673 to 456 and trio crimes dropped from 8 853 to 2 098.
“Considering the improved rate of life sentences secured by the family violence, child protection and sexual offences units in the past. One is optimistic that police will continue to work around the clock towards securing successful convictions and long term sentences of perpetrators of crimes against women and children. This should remain the practice even beyond the lockdown as gender based violence remains a scourge across the country,” he said.
Cele also welcomed the drop in the number of complaints against the police during the lockdown.
He said: “The decrease in the number of complaints which were high over the first days of the lockdown, reflects stabilisation and confirms that people are now beginning to understand the lockdown and are complying with the regulations, and that people are now cooperating with the members of the law enforcement entities.”