Here are the facts:

·         SAPS reports show 392,886 (56.65 per day) murders in last the 19 years.  During the 2012/2013 year they reported 16,259 (44.54 per day).

·         SAPS reports show 221,273 (31.91 per day) cases of culpable homicide in the 18 years up to 2011/2012.  During the 2011/2012 year they reported 11,788 (32.26 per day).

·         Our homicide rate per capita is 11.5 times higher than the gun crazy USA, and we are ranked top 5 in the world under the most homicidal countries.

·         In the SAPS crime report for 2012/2103, there was NO mention of culpable homicide (the killing of another human being) under “serious crimes”, “contact crimes” or anywhere in the entire report.

·         Taking an estimate of the 2012/2013 cases of culpable homicide (12,300) and a forecast for the combined murders and culpable homicides in 2013/2014 (28,000), we will pass 650,000 homicides by late this year, 90 per day since 1994.

Culpable homicide

·         Why remove 12,300 unlawful deaths from the crime statistics, surely this is a serious crime and should be reported directly below murder?  (Previously culpable homicide was reported in the bottom half of the report under “negligent and ill treatment of children”)

·         Why is our murder rate reported excluding culpable homicide and compared to international homicide rates that include culpable homicide?

·         In our country you can be executed in your home during a robbery (eg Father Louis Blondel) and it will be recorded as culpable homicide which means your death will not even make it only the crime stats.  If this was America it would be recorded as “non-negligent homicide” which together with “murder” is the reported murder rate over there.  Apples with apples?

The matric pass rate is reported excluding all the students who drop out.  Similarly, South Africans being murdered are excluded from the crime stats and the murder rate.  It’s not difficult to draw conclusions from this…