Police Chief Professor Phiroz Kachalia presented crime statistics for the period from April to June 2026 in Pretoria on Friday. SAPS recorded a noticeable decrease in several of the country's most serious contact crimes during the specified period.
Phiroz Kachalia, the acting Minister of Police, reported that there was a significant reduction in crimes such as car thefts, residential burglaries, commercial robberies, and cash-in-transit heists. He noted that these crimes cause fear in communities and are often committed by organized, well-armed criminal groups operating in a planned and sophisticated manner.
Crime Statistics
Kachalia also mentioned that other crimes are interpersonal in nature and are often committed by people known to the victims. These cases reflect deeper problems in the social structure of society, as well as the erosion of trust and relationships within local communities. According to Kachalia, a relatively small number of police stations account for a disproportionately large share of violent crime.
He emphasized that this strengthens the commitment to directing resources where they are most needed and ensuring that operational decisions are increasingly based on criminal intelligence and evidence, rather than assumptions. Thus, the statistics demonstrate two important points simultaneously: progress is achievable, but the work is far from over.
Kachalia stated that the sustained decrease in these categories shows that intelligence-led policing, targeted operations, and improved law enforcement cooperation are beginning to have an impact. At the same time, he also stressed the importance of broader social measures to address the root causes of violence.
Rise in Gender-Based Violence
Kachalia expressed concern over the increase in crime categories during the reporting period, especially those affecting women, children, and other vulnerable members of society. Gender-Based Violence and femicide (GBVF) continues to require urgent attention from all sectors of society.
He reminded that August is observed as Women's Month. Kachalia believes that protecting women, children, and other vulnerable persons remains a national priority for the police, requiring constant investment, prevention, victim support, investigation, and prosecution.
Building Momentum
Among the key decisions made was the need to strengthen interaction between national, provincial, and local governments, enhance intelligence capabilities, improve investigative services, accelerate the fight against organized crime, extortion, illegal mining, and gang-related violence, as well as ensure the direction of resources to identified crime hotspots.
Kachalia stressed that crime cannot be solved in isolation. Every sphere of government must play its part, and everyone must be aligned around a common goal. SAPS plans to focus efforts on 140 high-crime police stations across the country. These stations will receive targeted operational support, enhanced oversight, and improved resource allocation, among other things.
He added that senior SAPS management analyzes the crime picture every Monday, studying changes that may indicate whether the current use of resources is having the desired effect. This process has clearly shown one thing.
Alcohol as a Risk Factor
Kachalia pointed out that alcohol is the primary cause of violence in this country. He noted that this pattern is consistent and depressingly predictable. Violence concentrates on weekends, at night, and near establishments selling alcohol, many of which operate illegally and ignore regulatory rules.
He stated that a significant proportion of murders and serious assaults are linked to individuals who were under the influence of alcohol, killing or injuring acquaintances, often over minor disputes. He also added that a substantial portion of the murder rate is not related to the work of organized criminals or armed robbers.
According to him, these are ordinary people who are intoxicated and have access to weapons. The problem cannot be solved by arrests alone; it requires enforcing alcohol sales licenses, municipal law enforcement, and an honest national discussion about the place of alcohol in society.
SANDF
Kachalia reported that joint operations with the South African National Defence Force continued throughout this quarter and will continue. The fight against organized crime—including extortion syndicates, kidnapping networks, illegal mining, and banditry in areas where it effectively replaces the state—will also continue.
SAPS Reboot Agenda
He explained that the reboot agenda aims to restore a modern, professional, community-oriented, data-driven, ethical, responsive, and accountable police service. SAPS is accelerating its modernization program by implementing technology as a force multiplier to improve crime prevention, investigations, and service delivery.
Kachalia noted that through partnership with the Business Against Crime South Africa organization, SAPS is advancing a modernization project aimed at strengthening digital capabilities at the station level, improving operational efficiency, and equipping officers with technology that allows for smarter and more efficient work.
Kachalia emphasized that creating safe communities requires the participation of the entire society. Government alone cannot defeat crime, and the police cannot be on every corner, in every neighborhood, or inside every home. Sustainable crime prevention depends on active engagement between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve.
He pointed out that Police Community Forums, neighbourhood watches, traditional leaders, religious organizations, business, civil society, and ordinary residents play an indispensable role. Kachalia cited recent arrests following tragic shootings in Reiger Park, demonstrating what is possible when communities work with the police. Public information combined with rapid investigative work by SAPS allowed law enforcement to quickly take action against the perpetrators. This is the kind of partnership they aim to strengthen nationwide.
Police Safety
Kachalia explained that September is observed as Police Safety Month. He reminded that working in the police remains one of the most dangerous professions in the country, and every officer going on duty accepts risks that most South Africans never fully realize.
The recent murder of two Anti-Bandit unit members in Reiger Park once again highlighted the daily dangers faced by law enforcement officers. Kachalia also stated that law enforcement will investigate politically motivated crimes, hold perpetrators accountable, and work with all stakeholders to ensure that the electoral environment is safe, secure, and conducive to free and fair democratic participation.
