As for the so-called large-scale killing of white farmers, according to South African police statistics from 2016 to 2017, 74 people were killed in just more than 630 attacks on farms or small plots of land, while the total number of killings in South Africa over the same period was about 19,000. During an interview with The Associated Press, Gareth Newham, the head of the crime and justice program for the Institute for security studies in Pretoria, said the number of murders is actually down from 2001-2002, when 140 farm killings were noted by police. "The murders on farms are a reflection of the security situation in South Africa. There is absolutely no evidence that the violence is aimed at white farmers." Newham said.