71 Murders per Day

Statement by Lisa Schickerling MP – DA Spokesperson on Police:

The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes with grave concern that 6 351 South Africans were murdered between 1 October and 31 December 2025.

This equates to:

• 2 117 murders per month
• 71 murders per day

Almost three people murdered every hour.

In the same quarter, 11 430 rapes were recorded, which translates to:

• 127 rapes per day
• More than five rapes every hour

These figures confirm that South Africa remains in a sustained violent crime crisis. While percentage shifts are often highlighted, the absolute scale of violence remains devastating and unacceptable.

The DA is deeply concerned that policing success continues to be measured primarily in terms of arrest numbers rather than conviction outcomes.

Operations such as Operation Shanela routinely produce high arrest figures. However, arrests alone do not protect communities. What protects communities are successful prosecutions and meaningful sentences.

Conviction rates and case finalisation rates must become the primary indicators of policing effectiveness.

Weak investigations result in weak prosecutions. Poorly prepared dockets collapse in court. It is therefore insufficient to suggest that the National Prosecuting Authority must simply “do better” if investigations are flawed from inception.

South Africa urgently requires prosecution-led investigations, where cases are built from the outset with evidentiary strength and courtroom sustainability in mind.

Without convictions, crime statistics become little more than a ledger of violence.

Violence is geographically concentrated. Gang-driven firearm violence continues to devastate communities in the Western Cape, particularly in precincts such as Nyanga, Khayelitsha and Delft, which repeatedly appear among the highest murder stations nationally.

Centralised control has not resolved these hotspots.

Where operational competence exists at local and provincial level, it must be enabled rather than obstructed. Expanding policing powers to capable metros such as the City of Cape Town would allow for:

• Enhanced forensic and ballistic training capacity
• Faster linking of firearms across crime scenes
• Stronger racketeering cases against gang leadership
• Improved conviction outcomes

South Africans are not concerned with turf battles between spheres of government. They are concerned with survival. Reform that measurably improves safety must not be blocked for political reasons.

Firearms remain the dominant weapon used in murders. The crisis is illegal firearms, illicit trafficking and corruption within the system.

Law-abiding, licensed firearm owners are not the drivers of organised crime. Criminal syndicates are armed through illegal supply chains.

With 11 430 rapes recorded in a single quarter, South Africa’s Gender-Based Violence and Femicide crisis remains acute.

Declaring GBVF a national disaster is meaningless if forensic systems remain dysfunctional. DNA backlogs, delayed evidence processing and under-resourced laboratories undermine prosecutions and delay justice for victims. Without a fully functioning forensic system, prosecution-led investigations cannot succeed.

Victims deserve more than statements. They deserve outcomes.

6 351 murdered.
11 430 raped.
Thousands more assaulted, hijacked and robbed.

South Africa does not need more announcements. It needs:

• Conviction-driven policing
• Expanded policing powers to competent local and provincial governments
• Disruption of illegal firearm supply chains
• Protection of law-abiding citizens
• Urgent integrity and lifestyle audits within senior SAPS management

When convictions fail, criminals remain empowered.
When the system fails, citizens become the last line of defense.

The DA will continue to fight for structural reform that restores accountability and prioritises the safety of all South Africans.