The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) says the second-quarter crime statistics released by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu highlight structural challenges “and the overall situation remains dire for the working class and marginalised communities”.
SAFTU said it recognises that crime is often a symptom of broader social issues such as unemployment, inequality, and poverty.
“The working class continues to bear the brunt of both violent crime and systemic failures. The increased commercial crime further signals potential desperation and corruption driven by a struggling economy,” said the federation in a statement.
According to the national police minister, the South African Police Service (SAPS) has recorded a downward trend in some categories of crime, including murder, robbery and carjacking.
From 1 July to 30 September 2024, the 17 community-reported serious crimes showed an overall decline of 5.1%. Specifically, contact crime decreased by 3%, property-related crime saw a reduction of 9.9%, and other serious crime decreased by 3.4%.
“Focusing on contact crime, the statistics indicate that murder decreased by 5.8%, sexual offenses by 2.5%, and robbery with aggravating circumstances by 8,8%”, Mchunu said on Monday.
In light of these latest figures, SAFTU maintained that crime cannot be reduced without addressing its root causes which are “poverty, unemployment, and underpaid struggling workers”.
ALSO READ: Irvin Jim slams government over unemployment crisis.
