65% decline in violent crimes stats due to lockdown
Trio crimes car hijacking and robberies at homes and nonresidential places decreased by 80.9%, 65.5%, and 53.8% respectively.
Lockdown conditions have made South Africa and other countries safer, experts say, but new dangers lurked as desperation and social pressures abounded amid the strange realities of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) was not surprised by the latest crime statistics released this week, showing a decrease in violent crimes by more than 60% and an unprecedented overall crime rate drop over the last month.
According to a crime researcher at the institution, Dr. Johan Burger, these trends were to be expected as a restricted movement the world over had dramatically dropped the crime rates.
For South Africa, crimes taking an upward trend, according to Burger, included attacks on schools, while he predicted an increase of business burglaries including raids on churches, warehouses, and office spaces where criminals could find valuable items to sell on the black market.
He said lockdown conditions had led to fewer opportunities for house burglaries because of increased police visibility and more families being stuck at home.
Crime statistics confirmed predictions of a drop in the crime rate and although Police Minister Bheki Cele’s public addresses suggested the alcohol ban played a major role in the drop in crime during the lockdown, his statement on the latest data did not explain this supposed correlation.
Trio crimes car hijacking and robberies at homes and nonresidential places decreased by 80.9%, 65.5%, and 53.8% respectively between March and April last year and the same period this year.
Violent crimes decreased by over 65% overall. Murder was down 72% and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm was down 85.2% in a country with an average murder rate of 58 per day.
In other news – Rhythm City – David Genaro returns for revenge
When the star left the show, it was indeed a huge blow for the viewers! Rhythm City fans are in for a wild and action-packed month of May as veteran actor and villain David Genaro makes a return to the popular show.
His return, however, has a twist as it’s only in the spirit. The David Genaro spirit uses Ziyanda as it’s host and plans to use her in his murderous plot. continue reading
Source: The Citizen
