Police in South Africa have been accused of "failing in the fight against crime", as newly-released figures show a significant rise in murder rates.
In the year to March, there were 17,805 killings, an increase of 4.6% on the year before.
This equates to a murder every 30 minutes and cases have risen steadily over the past five years.
There was also an 8.5% increase in the number of robberies with aggravating circumstances - reaching a 10-year high of 129,045.
Carjacking cases are up by 14.2%, while truck hijacking incidents have risen by 29.1%.
The figures, from the South African Police Service, also point to a 5.4% decrease in the total number of sexual offences between April 2014 and March 2015.
Opposition parties have claimed it is "glaringly obvious that South Africa desperately needs specialised units to tackle some of the most serious crime problems", describing the levels of crime as a "tidal wave".
The Democratic Alliance also believes that incentivising police to decrease crime rates is "counter-intuitive" - as it incentivises officers to under-report the true extent of crime.
In a statement, its ministers said: "Crime affects South Africans every single day. We do not feel safe in our homes, our places of work, on the road and even in our police stations."
Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhkelo has described the high levels of violence and aggression in society as a serious concern.
(Sky News)
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