Bheki Cele, the police minister has announced the create at which crime has increased in the second quarter of the year.He told the parliament that the unrest in July had a great impact on this increase.

Major-General Norman Sekhukhune of the SAPS told MPs that in the period between July and September, there were more murders committed than in the previous quarter.

He said 6 163 people were killed between July and September this year.

However, in the previous quarter, there were 5 700 people were killed across the country.

On sexual offences, Sekhukhene said there was also an increase, with more rapes and other sexual crimes reported in the second quarter.

He said there were 11 964 sexual offences that were reported in the country.

This is an increase from the previous quarter.

He said there were increases in other crimes that were committed.

Cele had indicated to MPs that the July unrest had an impact on the crimes that were committed.

During the unrest, more than 300 people were killed, and thousands of businesses and infrastructure were destroyed over that period in July.

Some of the alleged instigators were arrested and are appearing in court on a number of charges.

The release of the crime statistics also comes against the backdrop of the police calling for more resources to clamp down on major crimes in the country.

The government had slashed the budget of different departments, including the police and other security-related departments, when Covid-19 broke out.

But there have been increasing calls for the government to prioritise the security cluster after the July unrest to ensure safety and security measures.