Political parties have slammed the police for rising crime levels in the country, saying the criminals were in control of the streets, leaving communities living in fear.
The parties said Police Minister Bheki Cele and his officials have allowed lawlessness in the country, which has seen a rise in serious and violent crimes.
They said communities were under siege from criminals.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Good Party said the government was failing to tackle crime.
They said the fact that more than 6,000 people were killed, almost 10,000 rape cases reported and hundreds of women and children killed in the first quarter showed the government was not able to deal with crime.
Cele and senior officials in the police were releasing crime statistics for the first quarter of the 2023/24 financial year.
IFP MP Zandile Majozi said the government needs to get on top of the situation.
She said they cannot allow so many murders and other violent crimes to take place every day in the country.
The criminals were becoming a law unto themselves.
Good Party secretary-general Brett Herron said the figures were shocking.
He said Cele and his senior officials can do more to improve the situation.
"The latest set of crime statistics continues to paint a bleak picture of South Africa. Although rape and murder have shown minor decreases from the same quarter in the previous year, the numbers are still shocking. An average of 68 people are murdered every day in this country, and an average of 101 rapes are reported daily. For years, experts have warned that the number of rapes could be even higher than reported," said Herron.
DA MP and its spokesperson on police, Chris Whitfield, said they were alarmed by the latest crime statistics.
He said women and children bear the brunt of violence and are no longer safe at home.
Politics