National Register for Sex Offenders: provincial stats revealed
THE country has seen 3 123 sex offenders registered on the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO) for the period from January 2017 to November 2021.
In figures provided by Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola, it was revealed that KwaZulu-Natal is the leading province with 640 cases, followed by the Western Cape at 561 offenders registered.
In a written Parliamentary reply to DA MP Désirée van der Walt – who enquired about the total number of offenders registered on the NRSO in each province – figures indicate that the Eastern Cape saw 478 offenders registered, followed by the Free State with 422.
Gauteng’s figures stood at 283 and Mpumalanga with 252. Limpopo has 224 registered offenders, North West 197 and the Northern Cape 66 offenders listed on the NRSO.
According to the statistics provided by Lamola, 2019 saw the highest number of offenders registered at 1 020, while in 2017 the figure stood at 848 and in 2018 there were 787 offenders registered. While 2019 might have seen the highest figure, 2020 saw a drop when the number stood at 295. 2019 also saw the Eastern Cape leading in the number of cases with 220, followed by
KZN with 186. Western Cape took the lead in 2018 with 194 sex offenders registered, again followed by KZN with 157.
Lamola pointed out that the data sets kept in the register constantly vary due to the day-to-day activities recorded in the register, which include entries and removals of particulars of sex offenders.
“As permitted by section 51 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 2007, certain registered offenders do apply to the registrar to have their particulars removed from the register. After consideration by the registrar, some of these applications are successful and this results in constant changes in the total number of sex offenders registered,” he said.
In November, releasing the latest crime statistics for July to September, Police Minister Bheki Cele said sex offences increased by 4.7%, with 9 556 rape cases reported.