Johannesburg – Police Minister Bheki Cele has warned about the rise in murder and rape cases in the country’s schools.
This comes after Cele released crime statistics for July and September this year.
This is part of the quarterly crime statistics that Cele and his top management team in the SAPS release to Parliament and the public.
Cele said that the crime statistics on children were shocking and showed that communities continue to fail to protect some of the most vulnerable in society, the children.
"Shockingly, in just six months, 558 children were killed in South Africa from April to the end of September 2022. Police are investigating attempted murder dockets of 294 children from July to September 2022," said Cele.
On family violence, child protection and sexual offences (FSC), Cele said between July and September, the FCS unit arrested 4 375 perpetrators of crimes committed against women and children.
"Police traced and arrested 410 (alleged) rapists during this reporting period. Sixty eight of them have been sentenced to life behind bars," he said.
In September, Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga was asked in Parliament about the measures put in place regarding reports on gang-related activities in schools, theft and the rise of violence.
Motshekga said a number of measures had been taken to clamp down on gangsterism in schools, which including a crack down on drug dealing, truancy, bullying and theft.
She said one of the factors leading to these incidents were social, which spilt over into the schools, and gangsterism was part of it.
She said they were putting measures in place to contain the problem and have roped in a number of role-players.
"The department has trained schools on the implementation of the National School Safety Framework (NSSF), which is a guiding framework in addressing all forms of violent incidents in schools, including gangsterism," she said.
The minister said they were working closely with the SAPS to tackle incidents of rape and murder.
"The protocol has enabled all schools to be linked to their local police stations. SAPS conducts searches and seizures in schools, and conducts crime awareness campaigns in schools.
"Regularly, schools work with SAPS, local community police forums and social workers to address gangsterism-related issues," she said.
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