Cape Town - Crime statistics released on Tuesday indicate that murder and attempted murder have continued on its steady downward trend over the last year.
Murder deceased by 3.4 percent and attempted murder decreased by 4.3 percent in the 2008/2009 reporting period, according to Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa.
"We are pleased that they continue to decline," said the minister, who further reported that since 1994, there had been an overall murder ratio decrease by 44.5 percent in South Africa.
He said in general, there were areas where police were making progress, but there were also areas were they were lagging behind.
According to Assistant Commissioner, Dr Chris de Kok, while there was a decrease in murder, there had been an increase in murders as a result of robberies.
He said most murders were social in nature, meaning that it was perpetrated by people who were known to their victims. The motives behind social murder include arguments, love triangles, punishment or are domestic-related.
"But what we find now with docket analysis is that there is a small, but definite growth in murders as a result of robbery," said Dr de Kok.
Therefore government was placing a special emphasis on tackling robberies, and aggravated robberies as well as the "trio-crimes" of house robberies, businesses robberies and car-hijackings.
According to the 2008/2009 crime statistics, released on Tuesday, there was a significant 17.7 percent increase in robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Mthethwa said that government was unshakeable in its resolve to fight crime and that solutions to the areas where there have been increases will be found.
