BusinessLive reports that the latest SA Survey published by the South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR) shows that the rate at which police officers are being murdered has fallen significantly over the past 20 years.  

Viewed by decade (1995-2004 and 2005-2014)‚ more than double the number of police officers were murdered in the first decade after apartheid than between 2005 and 2014.  The survey found that between 1994 and 2004‚ 1‚970 police officers were killed.  This decreased by 52%‚ to 945‚ between 2005 and 2014.  The survey also found that the rate of police murders fell 80% from 252 per 100‚000 in 1994‚ to 51 in 2014.  IRR crime analyst Kerwin Lebone commented:  "The police’s primary role in the pre-1994 era was regarded as that of defending the government of the day and police were thus a legitimate target for political attacks."  Yet, despite the huge drop in police murders‚ SA remains a relatively dangerous country in which to conduct police work.

• Read this report in full at BusinessLive
• See too, Big drop in cop killings, but SA still relatively dangerous for cops, at News24

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