SA crime stats: Parties slam 'violence crisis' despite Q3: 2025 drop

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia’s cautiously optimistic presentation of the third-quarter crime statistics has been met with a three-pronged political backlash, with the EFF, Freedom Front Plus and DA offering sharply different, but equally critical readings of the numbers.

Cachalia announced that murders declined by 8.7% during the October to December 2025 period, with 602 fewer lives lost compared to the same quarter last year. Contact crimes and trio crimes also showed notable decreases.

But opposition parties argue that percentage drops do not erase the scale of violence, or systemic weaknesses in policing and prosecution.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said the figures confirm that “South Africa remains in a deep and structural crisis of violence, lawlessness, and organised criminality that continues to devastate working-class communities.”

While acknowledging the 8.7% decline, the party stressed that 6,351 murders in three months still place South Africa among the most violent countries globally.

The EFF highlighted that Gauteng recorded 1, 536 murders, KwaZulu-Natal 1, 297, Eastern Cape 1, 270 and Western Cape 1, 157, saying the concentration of cases at police stations including Mfuleni, Nyanga, Inanda and Delft shows violence is “geographically entrenched in historically marginalised and impoverished communities.”

It further noted that firearms accounted for 2,561 murders.

“The continued dominance of firearms highlights the state's failure to dismantle illegal gun supply chains and confront internal corruption enabling the circulation of weapons.”

On sexual violence, the EFF described the situation as “a national shame,” citing 14,547 sexual offences in three months, including 11,430 rapes.

“Although rape declined by 3.2% compared to the previous year, this still means that over 11,000 rape cases were officially recorded in a single quarter.”

The party argued that “policing alone cannot resolve this crisis” and linked crime to unemployment, inequality and collapsing public services.

The Freedom Front Plus focused less on the scale of violence and more on whether the public can trust the figures at all.

“Optimism about the declining crime figures in South Africa should be tempered with valid criticism from reliable sources, such as the Auditor-General (AG), regarding their accuracy and reliability,” said MP and police spokesperson Wouter Wessels.

He pointed to an Auditor-General finding that “up to 30% of police data on crime is unreliable due to errors, manipulation and poor controls.”

Wessels also highlighted that in 2024/25 “only 6% of reported crimes were successfully prosecuted,” arguing that this shows “the criminal justice system is failing victims of crime.”

He said the SAPS announcement of a Memorandum of Understanding with Statistics South Africa to ensure figures are “in line with international best practices” is “a clear admission that a problem exists which needs to be rectified.”

“It all looks good on paper, but it is regrettable that South Africans have become desensitised to how serious the country's crime situation truly is. These statistics create a false sense of security.”

“The only way to ensure South Africans' safety is to successfully prosecute criminals. The entire criminal justice system needs to be overhauled.”

In KwaZulu-Natal, where murder declined by 13.1%, the Democratic Alliance adopted a pragmatic tone, welcoming progress but warning that communities still feel unsafe.

“While there is a welcome 13.1% decrease in murder cases, contributing to a national decline of 8.7%  overall crime levels remain far too high and KZN’s communities continue to live in fear,” said DA KZN spokesperson on Community Safety and Liaison Riona Gokool.

“Statistics alone do not equal safety and KZN’s people must feel safer in their homes, businesses and public spaces.”

The DA identified organised violent crime, illegal firearms and weak investigative capacity as urgent challenges.

“While contact crimes have declined nationally, attempted murder and violent assaults statistics remain deeply concerning, showing that criminals still operate with confidence.”

She added: “Criminals fear consequences, not statistics.”

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