For 546 families across South Africa, this year brought a small mercy a loved one who is still alive today. But while that is the number the countrys murder rate has dropped by, police minister Firoz Cachalia says too many South Africans still live in fear, with violence continuing to tear through homes, families and communities.
Releasing the fourth-quarter crime statistics on Friday, Cachalia said the figures reflected both progress and the painful reality faced by many communities across the country.
The figures that will be presented today are not just numbers. They are a stark mirror held up to our society. Behind every statistic is a traumatised victim, a distraught family, a community living in fear, he said.
