Pretoria - South Africa's murder rate has decreased by 6.5% in the past year, dropping below the 16 000 figure to 15 940 cases of murder being recorded.
The statistics -- released by Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa, who was flanked by National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele -- formed part of the Crime Statistics Annual Report from April 2010 to March 2011.
During the 1994/95 period, the murder ratio stood at 27 000.
Mthethwa said this was encouraging, considering that the reduction of this type of crime was not only dependent on police, but was a societal challenge requiring a coordinated effort.
"These continuous reductions in murder indicate that government is succeeding in its effort," said Mthethwa.
During the 2010/11 financial year, a 12.2% decrease in attempted murder was recorded. In 2009/10, it only decreased by 6.1%.
The decrease was not the only good news from the statistics released in Pretoria - as the country's trio crimes -- house robberies, business robberies and vehicle hijackings -- have also shown a decrease of 10.7%.
In house robberies alone, only 16 889 cases were reported, compared with the 18 786 reported in 2009/10 year. This indicates a decrease of 10.1%.
In car hijackings, the tide seems to be turning as police reported a 23.6% decrease.
Mthethwa said this was a great improvement, considering that for the last three years, this type of crime was on the increase.
He said even tracker companies and the SA insurance crime bureau have indicated some sort of stability in this area.
Truck drivers also had a lucky break as police recorded 29.2% decrease in truck hijacking, with only 413 cases reported.
The festive season campaign "When duty calls" was the cause of a decrease in burglaries at residential premises, said Mthethwa. He said the private sector security also complemented police efforts in fighting this crime. A 4.8% decrease was recorded compared with the 2.7% increase in the 2009/10 financial year.
But the non-residential properties, which normally include the organised business sector, particularly the small businesses, did not get lucky. They recorded an increase of 0.9% in burglaries.
Mthethwa said this was a difficult area to manage and secure because of the capacity.
"Now based on this persistent challenge in smaller business, we are developing a national small business robbery strategy, which will be finalised by the end of this year and then be rolled out across the country." - BuaNews
