The murder of Steven Biko has focused world attention on the deaths of scores of people while in the hands of the security branch of the South African Police. Those admitted to have died between 1963 and 1971 total 22; their deaths were officially attributed to 'suicide,' 'natural causes,' 'slipped in shower,' 'fell down stairs,' 'natural causes,' 'fell [some] floors' from police buildings. There are no recorded deaths of detainees under security legislation from 1971-1976; since March 1976, known deaths of men held under terms of security laws number 24.
