Acting Minister Firoz Cachalia has revealed that over the past decade, more than 21 million criminal cases were opened, with 13.2 million closed without resolution, exposing a massive backlog in the police service. Acting Minister of PoliceFiroz Cachaliahas revealed that over the past decade, more than 21 million criminal cases were opened in South Africa, with 13.2 million of these closed without resolution. He disclosed this in a parliamentary reply to a question posed byBuild One South Africa(BOSA) leader Dr Mmusi Maimane, who asked: “For each of the past 10 financial years, what total number of criminal dockets have been opened, solved, officially closed without resolution in each province, and how many are still open and under investigation by the South African Police Service?” Cachalia explained that the figures for cases still under investigation for each financial year include dockets carried over from previous years and should not be aggregated to calculate a cumulative total.
“For example, the total of 1 909 625 shown for 2024/2025 includes dockets recorded in earlier years that remain under investigation,” he said. He further clarified that some dockets officially closed without resolution can be reopened if new evidence emerges or if they were closed with a brought-forward date in subsequent years “The totals for cases closed without resolution should not be added to derive a ten-year total, as dockets are sometimes reopened for further investigation,” Cachalia added. Maimane said according to the data, 21.5 million criminal cases were opened over the past ten years, yet 61.7% were closed and unsolved.
This translates to 13.2 million unresolved cases, highlighting the strain on the police service in keeping up with rising crime levels, he said. The overall clearance rate for criminal cases stands at just 37.5%, illustrating a system overwhelmed by both the volume of crime and a shortage of investigative personnel, he said. Cachalia’s figures also reveal that Gauteng, Western Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal consistently record the highest numbers of criminal dockets, while provinces such as Limpopo and North West, though smaller in volume, still face high percentages of unresolved cases.
