Question NW2841 to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
03 November 2022 - NW2841
Abrahams, Ms ALA to ask the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
With reference to the Quarter One SA Crime Statistics for the 202122 financial year, pertaining to crimes committed against women, what is the total number of (a) successful convictions, (b) cases dismissed and/or acquitted as a result of poor or incomplete investigations by the SA Police Service, (c) cases withdrawn by the victim and/or victim’s family, (d) cases awaiting trial, (e) cases awaiting sentencing and (f) cases still under investigation in each province for (i) murder, (ii) attempted murder, (iii) assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm and (iv) common assault?
Reply:
The National Prosecutor Authority (NPA) is particularly concerned where children and women are the victims of crime and deals with such cases as matters of priority. The Sexual Offences and Community Affairs (SOCA) Unit within the NPA is looking towards and assisting these victims in the Thuthuzela Care Centres (TCC’s) of South Africa. Sixty-one (61) TCC’s have already been established throughout the country. Safe spaces for such victims are created. These centres also provide improved services such as treatment and educational assistance to these victims. Prosecutors in court are attending to these matters as priority though it is difficult to keep record of all such cases especially when the crimes, as appears from the question above, are not committed solely due to the gender or age of the victim. The NPA is manually though recording data on both femicide as well as intimate femicide cases. Regarding crimes against women the NPA can supply the data on convictions and acquittals pertaining to femicide and intimate partner femicide only.
During the financial year 2021/22 (April to August 2022) the following was recorded:
a) There was a total of three hundred and ninety-six (396) successful convictions relating to femicide counts and three hundred and sixteen (316) convictions relating to intimate partner femicide counts.
b) There were twenty-four (24) acquittals relating to femicide counts and twenty-one (21) acquittals pertaining to intimate partner femicide counts. The reasons for the acquittals were not recorded and it cannot be confirmed that it was “as a result of poor or incomplete investigations by the South African Police Service”.
c) The information regarding cases withdrawn by the victim and /or victim’s family is not recorded by the NPA and cannot be supplied.
d) The number of cases awaiting trial can also not be supplied as it is not recorded.
e) The number of cases awaiting sentencing is not available as it is not recorded.
f) The NPA is unable to supply information pertaining to cases still under investigation in each province for:
- Murder;
- Attempted murder;
- Assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm; and
- Common assault as it is not recorded.