South Africas police have closed 13.2 million criminal cases without resolution over the past decade, according to figures released by the Ministry of Police in response to parliamentary questions from Build One SA leader Mmusi Maimane. The ministry stressed that some dockets can be reopened if new evidence emerges and cautioned that the totals should not be simply combined to represent a definitive 10 year figure. The newest data shows Gauteng leading with 375613 unresolved cases for the 2024 to 2025 financial year, followed by the Western Cape with 236764 and KwaZulu Natal with 179631. Build One SA spokesperson Roger Solomons said the numbers were a stark reflection of a police service unable to keep pace with the countrys crime levels. He said the figures revealed a system overwhelmed by rising crime, severe shortages of detectives and under resourced police stations. Crime is rampant, and South Africans are paying the price for a police service that cannot cope. The shortage of trained detectives and under resourced police stations is crippling our ability to fight crime effectively, Solomons said. He warned that thousands of cases were going cold with no follow up investigations, no arrests and no justice. As more and more files pile up on the desks of detectives, criminals are not being brought to book and justice is not being served for victims, he said. Build One SA has called for an expansion of police capacity, including new recruitment, increased funding and digitised criminal dockets. The issue of unresolved cases is not new. Last year, in response to questions from the Democratic Alliance, the ministry reported that more than five million dockets had been closed since 2018 due to insufficient evidence or leads. DA MP Lisa Schickerling said that between 2018 and 2023, the cases closed without result included 76655 murders, 40089 attempted murders, 141026 assaults with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, 256162 aggravated robberies, 61740 rapes, 5523 sexual assaults and 9114 kidnappings. Law enforcement expert and former police officer Professor Quiet Mabunda said the rise in unresolved cases can be traced primarily to a shortage of detectives. He said many experienced officers have left the service, leaving files abandoned mid investigation. As citizens, we are not interested in the statistics; we are interested in seeing the police doing their work and not getting their hands dirty by getting themselves involved in criminal activities, he said. He added that even when new officers are recruited, the lengthy training process delays case progress. He noted that dockets often end up shelved for years as cold cases unless new evidence surfaces. Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said no case is permanently closed. She said some remain undetected until new forensic data or information is received. As soon as new forensic leads are received, investigations continue, she said.
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