Orrin Singh26 November 2024 | 7:02

Alcohol key driver of crime, crime stats reveal

Police found that thousands of cases of rape and hundreds of murders were committed by perpetrators under the influence of alcohol.

Alcohol key driver of crime, crime stats reveal

Man beating up his wife illustrating domestic violence GBV sdecoret/123rf

JOHANNESBURG - Alcohol continues to lead to some of the country's most heinous crimes. 
 
Police found that thousands of cases of rape and hundreds of murders were committed by perpetrators under the influence of alcohol.
 
On Monday, police top brass released the latest crime statistics, which cover July to September.

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Between July and September, 6,545 people were murdered across the country. 
 
South African Police Service (SAPS) crime registrar general Norman Sekhukhune said alcohol was the main driver in more than 200 of these cases. 
 
“In 227 of the murders it was indicated that the perpetrator had used alcohol during the commission of the murder.”
 
He said of the more than 10,000 cases of rape recorded during the same period, just over a thousand of these cases involved alcohol. 
 
“In 1,466 rape incidents, it was indicated that it involved the use of alcohol.”
 
Cases of murder decreased by 400 and rape by 325 in comparison to the same period last year.