The shocking national crime statistics were released today in Parliament by Police Minister Bheki Cele. The Western Cape was yet again named the murder capital of South Africa. Ten of the 30 police stations with the highest incidence of murder being reported can be found in this province.
Here a breakdown of the report:
– The Western Cape reported 808 gang-related murders, 45 taxi-related murders and 173 mob justice-related murders – making it the most violent province
– Nyanga Police Station reported the highest number of murder cases reported, with 308 cases recorded. Other stations in the Western Cape include Phillipi East with 205 recorded cases, Delft with 195 cases, Khayelitsha with 192 cases, Kraaifontein with 186 cases, and Gugulethu with 182 cases
– The Gauteng province has nine police stations in the top 30, followed KwaZulu-Natal with six stations, and the Eastern Cape with five stations
– 62 cases of farm murders were reported to have taken place on farms and smallholdings across the country during the 2017/18 financial year, with three reported in the Western Cape
– A further 33 cases of house robbery and six cases of attempted murder also took place on farms and smallholdings in SA
Kidnapping
Crime statistics revealed that the victim was familiar with their captor in 292 cases reported. The remaining 252 victims were kidnapped by strangers.
The breakdown of cases and reasons for kidnapping are as follows:
– two cases of taxi-related kidnapping were reported
– four cases of labour-related kidnapping were reported
– 22 cases of domestic violence or revenge kidnapping were reported
– 121 cases of kidnapping involving sexual offences were reported, and include 105 cases of rape
– 10 cases of kidnapping for ransom were reported
– 79 cases mob justice and vigilantism-related kidnapping were reported
– 75 cases of robbery-related kidnapping were reported
Murders of women and children
Murders to society’s most vulnerable, women and children, have increased across the board.
– There has been an 11% increase women being murdered, from 2 639 women in 2016/17 to 2 930 women in 2017/18
– Boy children being murdered has increased by a worrying 20.4%, from 574 boys in 2016/17 to 691 in 2017/18
– More girl children have also been murdered in 2017/18 compared to 2016/17, with a 10.9% increase. A total of 294 cases were reported compared to last year’s 265
– The Western Cape contributed 16.6% of the country’s murders of women and children
The Western Cape also recorded:
– 117 157 cases of drug-related crime
– 12 776 cases of driving under the influence
– 2 182 cases of carjacking
– 2 787 cases of residential property robbery
– 26 cases of cash-in-transit robbery
– 762 cases of arson
Cele has acknowledged that South African Police Services have dropped the ball, saying that this year’s crime statistics are “nothing to write home about”.
The rest of the statistics can be viewed by clicking here.
Picture: Twitter/SAPS