Nyanga township in the Western Cape still has the highest murder rate, while Johannesburg Central police station tops the list of the top 30 police stations when it comes to the number of contact crimes reported over the past year.
This is according to the annual crime statistics, which were presented to Members of Parliament on Tuesday.
Presenting a provincial analysis of contact crimes including murder, rape, attempted murder, assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, common assault, common robbery, aggravated robbery and sexual assault, Major General Norman Sekhukhune, the police’s head of crime research and statistics, revealed the top 30 police stations where these crimes are mostly reported.
“The top police stations in terms of murder, the Western Cape had 10 stations in the top 30 police stations, followed by Gauteng with nine, then KwaZulu-Natal with six and Eastern Cape with five. These police stations contributed 4 124 murders to the national total…”
Sekhukhune said the top 30 police stations collectively contributed 20% to the national murder rate.
Murder per police station
A closer look at the crime stats reveals that 308 murders were reported at Nyanga police station alone, which is a 9.6% increase when compared to the previous financial year. The statistic puts Nyanga at the top of the list nationwide.
The rest of the stations in the Western Cape where the most murder cases were reported include Phillipi East (205), Delft (195), Khayelitsha (192), Kraaifontein (186), Gugulethu (182), Mfuleni (157), Harare (142) and Mitchells Plain (140).
In KwaZulu-Natal, some 223 cases were reported at Umlazi police station alone, which represented an increase of 19.3%.
Other stations in the province include Inanda (203), followed by KwaMashu East (123), Plessislaer (104), Mariannhill (96) and Mpumalanga KZN (90).
Eastern Cape had five police stations – Mthatha (160), Bethelsdorp (127), KwaZakhele (104), Lusikisiki (97) and Ngqeleni (90).
In Gauteng, Jeppe police station topped the list in the province with 125 murders, followed by Ivory Park (108), Kagiso (101), Hilbrow (98), Moroka and Thembisa (97), Orange Farm (95), Johannesburg Central (91) and Alexandra (90).
Contact crimes per province
Sekhukhune said overall, the North West province experienced a 3.2%, or 1 121 cases, in contact crimes. Over 36 000 cases were reported across the province.
While other provinces recorded a decrease in contact crimes, Gauteng had 170 640 cases reported, while the Western Cape saw 112 996 cases being recorded.
In KwaZulu-Natal, 94 914 cases were reported, while Eastern Cape had 65 393 cases reported.