With people focusing on the spread of the coronavirus, did you know the number of violent crimes is on the increase both nationally and within our community?
On Friday, July 31, the South African Police Service, with Stats SA, published the 2019/2020 crime statistics.
The crime stats which covers the period of 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 paints a rather bleak image for South Africa. While overall crime figures have dropped, violent crimes such as murder continue to rise.
According to Police Minister Bheki Cele, the annual crime stats are being released earlier than usual, so police can start releasing crime stats on a quarterly basis in the future.
Where does South Africa currently stand with violent crimes?
Nationally, murder has increased by 1.4%. During the period, a staggering 21 325 murders were recorded. That is 303 more cases than the 2018/2019 period.
The province with the highest number of murders is none other than KwaZulu-Natal, with 4 859 murders. Gauteng follows with 4 555 murder cases. The Western Cape and Eastern Cape follow in third and fourth place, respectively.
These four provinces also have the highest number of rapes in the country. Gauteng comes in at the top spot with 8 509 reported cases. KZN takes second place with 8 017 reported cases.
Nationally, the number of rapes has increased significantly.4 This sees the number of cases shooting up from 41 583 cases to 42 289 cases.
Furthermore, on a national level, the number of carjacking and truck hijacking cases have increased. The number of carjacking cases now stands at 18 162, the is 1 236 more cases than last year. The number of truck hijacking cases stands at 1 202, which is 20 more cases in the 2019/2020 period.
Out of these figures, there are 3041 reported cases of carjacking, which is 277 more cases than last year. Truck hijackings have decreased in the province, falling from 80 reported cases to 70 reported cases.
With KZN sporting a high number of murder and sexual offences cases, where does Newcastle, Madadeni and Osizweni stand? How safe are our residents from the criminal element?
Madadeni
There are 44 reported murder cases, which is an increase from the previous year’s 39 cases. The attempted murder cases increased to 24 reported cases from last year’s 21 cases.
The number of reported rape cases stands at 130. This is a sharp increase from the 98 reported rape cases in 2018/2019.
Common assault and assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm cases have also risen substantially in Madadeni.
Assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm has shot up to 708 cases, from last year’s 676 reported cases. There were 608 reported common assault cases, which is 26 more cases than the previous year.
Common robbery has increased by 13 cases, with 137 reported cases in Madadeni.
The number of carjacking and truck hijackings cases remains the same as in the 2019/2020 period. According to the crime stats, there were only eight carjacking cases and no truck hijackings.
Newcastle
There have been 24 reported murders during the period, which is nine more murders than the 2018/2019 period.
The number of attempted murders has risen from 49 reported cases to 56 reported cases during the 2019/2020 period.
Assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm has seen a decline of 11 cases, dropping to 240 reported cases. However, common assault has increased, with 491 reported cases for the 2019/2020 period.
There was also an increase in the number of reported rape cases. The figure shot up to 35 cases from 30 reported cases in 2019/2020.
Common robbery has seen a slight decrease, with only 89 cases during the 2019/2020 period. There were 131 cases in 2019/2020.
There has been a minor decrease in carjacking cases in Newcastle, with figures falling from four reported cases to two cases. Truck hijacking has seen a minor increase, with only one reported case from zero cases in 2019/2020.
Osizweni
Murder has increased in Osizweni, climbing from 57 cases to 59 cases. Osizweni has also seen an increase in attempted murder cases, with the cases increasing from 34 reported cases to 36 reported cases.
However, the number of assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm cases has dropped. During the 2019/2020 period, a total of 411 cases were reported. This is a drop from the 2018/2019 cases, where 454 cases were reported.
The number of rape cases has seen an increase. There is a total of 151 reported rape cases, which is a sharp increase over 2019/2020’s the 131 reported cases.
Assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm has seen a drop with only 240 reported cases, from the 251 cases in 2019/2020. Common assault has seen a decrease, with reported cases falling from 361 to 353 cases.
Common robbery has seen a slight decrease, with only 88 cases during the 2019/2020 period. There were 92 cases in 2019/2020.
The truck hijacking stats remains the same, with no reported cases. Carjackings, however, has seen an increase with 18 reported cases over last year’s 17 reported cases.
With violent crimes showing a significant increase, what measures do you feel need to be implemented in securing our residents? How do you feel the police can better protect us? Share your thoughts and views with us in the comment section below.
