The State of Urban Safety Report examines the state of crime and violence in the nation’s urban centers, and this year’s edition is set to be released soon, reportedly revealing that Cape Town is the ‘murder capital’ in South Africa.
Cape Town tops the list for highest murder rate and the country’s most dangerous city, just ahead of Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City. The Mother City also holds the spot for the highest number of incidents of robbery and property-related crimes.
Interestingly enough, the report shows that Cape Town’s population growth rate is much slower than that of Johannesburg and Tshwane, and has the lowest level of poverty. Data from the Human Development Index has shown Cape Town as having the lowest income inequality – as well as the second lowest youth unemployment rate.
These factors are generally thought to reduce crime rates, yet experts pinpoint the issue to other societal ills; easy access to drugs, alcohol and firearms is twice that of any other city and is the main driver for violent crime in Cape Town.
Much of the violence that occurs in the city takes place on the Cape Flats, an area considered to be one of the most dangerous in the world. Philippi East, also in Cape Town, is one of the three most dangerous hotspots in the country, next to Johannesburg’s Hillbrow and eThekwini’s KwaMashu.
Photography Getty