22 police officers slain between Sep and Nov 2023, Hawks confirm

JOHANNESBURG - Twenty-two police officers were murdered in South Africa between September and November last year.

This was revealed by Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya at a press briefing to unpack the unit’s performance for the third quarter of 2023/2024.

Twelve of the officers killed during the period under review were off duty, while 10 were on duty.

Police killings appear to be down from the previous quarter during which 35 were recorded.

Nonetheless, 22 murders over three months work out to one every four days.

Speaking at Monday’s briefing, Lebeya described an attack on a police official as “an attack on the State”, adding that even one death was “unacceptable”.

He did, however, highlight that during the period in question, 12 people were arrested for the crimes and a further three were convicted.

In the previous quarter, there were 37 arrests and 10 convictions.