A total of 4,501 suspects were arrested for murder and attempted murder between October and January.
In the same period – October 11 to January 31 – 149 convicted murderers were sentenced to life imprisonment.
This was revealed by national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola during a media briefing in Pretoria on Sunday.
“4,501 arrests were for murder and attempted murder, 3,983 arrested for rape and attempted rape,” he said.
Masemola said firearms remain a big problem in SA as most serious and violent crimes including murders include the use of a firearm.
“A total of 2,198 illegal and unlicensed firearms were seized and confiscated during operations. These include 1,731 handguns, 154 homemade guns, 211 rifles and 102 shotguns. The majority of firearms seized were confiscated in Kwazulu-Natal, Gauteng, Eastern Cape and the Western Cape,” he said.
Masemola categorised the police killings as a national priority offence which is investigated by the Hawks.
“The ongoing attacks and killing of our men and women in blue cannot continue. This is a crime that requires all of us to stand against and prevent it from happening. What is encouraging to note is that we have categorised the killing of police officers as a national priority offence.
We would ultimately like to see a situation where we don’t lose any member in the hands of criminals. We therefore request [public] to work with us and not against us in this fight to rid of our country off callous criminals
— Gen Fannie Masemola
“We would ultimately like to see a situation where we don’t lose any member in the hands of criminals. We therefore request [public] to work with us and not against us in this fight to rid of our country off callous criminals,” Masemola said.
On illegal mining, he said Operation Vala uMgodi continues to record exceptional results since its inception in December 2023.
“More than 1,700 illegal miners that were arrested from August 2024 in Stilfontein are still in police custody. 121 have already been deported which include 80 Mozambicans, 30 Basotho nationals, 10 Zimbabweans as well as one Congolese and Malawian.
“The department of health forensic pathologists are busy with the autopsies with the assistance of the SAPS victim identification centre (VIC) where fingerprints and samples for DNA analysis are being collected and sent to the laboratory,” he said.
Masemola concluded by applauding men and women in blue for their dedication in combating criminal acts.
“To our members who did not take leave during the festive period, thank you for your commitment, dedication and hard work.
“Stay extra vigilant and operationally ready to respond to the call of duty. Let us continue to prevent and combat crime in 2025 with the same vigor, determination, and recipe for success,” he said.
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