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According to the latest crime statistics, many people do not realise that not all is well in Newcastle and its neighbouring towns.
Offering a glimpse into South Africa’s crime situation on Friday afternoon, 18 February 2022, Police Minister Bheki Cele provided the latest police recorded crime statistics for the third quarter of 2021/2022, covering the period 1 October to 31 December 2021.
The Police Minister’s stats show that Newcastle secured 14th place amongst the worst 30 areas in the country for Cash-in-Transit heists.
In addition to this, Newcastle secured 12th place for burglary at non-residential premises, with 71 cases.
Even though there were five fewer cases than the same period in 2020, Newcastle had more burglaries at non-residential premises than Pietermaritzburg, which saw 59 cases reported to the police.
Newcastle also takes 14th place in the country for motorists driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, with 96 cases, compared to the 84 cases in 2020.
Madadeni, on the other hand, comes in at 21st place with 86 cases, compared to the 43 from the previous year.
Additionally, Madadeni also secured eighth place in the country for assault with intent to cause Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH). Two hundred nineteen cases were reported from October to December 2021, only 13 cases fewer than the previous year.
When it comes to stock theft, Utrecht leads the way, taking the top spot in the country with 84 reported cases, 26 more cases than the previous year. Bergville, Estcourt, Osizweni, Dannhauser and Ladysmith also made it on the hotspot list for stock theft.
When it comes to illegal firearms and ammunition in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, Ladysmith is one of the most problematic areas, being 29 in the top 30 stations for this crime.
When looking at the overall crime figures, Cele highlighted some of the more severe crimes in the country.
Murder in South Africa
Cele notes, “In the three months of reporting, an 8.9% increase in murder was recorded.”
There were 562 more people killed in South Africa between October and December, compared to the same period in 2020. Adding to this, out of the 6 859 people slain in the country, 902 of them were women, while 352 of the victims were children.
Moreover, 232 of the overall murders resulted from domestic violence.
A total of 27 police officers were killed during this time.
The North West province recorded the highest increase of murder cases, up by 24.3% compared to the corresponding period in the previous financial year.
Causes for murder in South Africa
The top four causative factors of these deaths are arguments, vigilantism, robberies, and retaliation.
A total of 2 599 people were murdered in public places such as an open field, streets, parking areas and abandoned buildings. The second most likely place for murder to occur is at the victim’s home or of the perpetrator. Liquor outlets were the third most likely place to be killed in South Africa.
Rape in South Africa
Sexual offences have seen a 9% decrease, according to the Police Minister. Despite this drop, 11 315 people were raped between October and December 2021. Compared to the previous reporting period, this is a decrease of 903 rape cases.
Over 5 012 of the rape incidents took place at the home of the victim or the home of the rapist.
Six hundred seventy-four rapes were domestic violence-related, and 632 rape cases in this category involved female victims, and 42 were males.
The Eastern Cape’s Lusikisiki police station and Umlazi and Inanda station in KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest incidents of rape.
Property Related Crimes in South Africa
All Property Related crimes decreased by 7.7%. Burglary at residential and non-residential premises declined drastically. Theft of vehicles and motorcycles also reduced by over 20%
A total of 7 404 cases of stock theft were opened. “This crime declined by 450 cases, compared to the corresponding period in the previous financial year,” Cele pointed out.
Arson cases have increased over this reporting period, with 963 cases documented from October to December.
Assault in South Africa
Assault GBH figures have shown drastic decreases, with 3611 fewer cases reported during this reporting period.
“While the decrease is welcomed, the number of assault cases is still too high and shows that violence still stalks many communities and is often fuelled by alcohol abuse,” the Police Minister explains.
Forty-six thousand five hundred thirteen cases of assault GBH and 47 081 cases of common assault were opened over the three months of reporting.
Arguments, road rage, intervention in a fight and robbery are some of the leading causes of the assault GBH.
Out of the 46 513 cases of assault GBH, 2 048 involved children under 17 years.
Trio Crimes in South Africa
Aggravated robberies such as Carjacking increased by 13.8%. There were also 661 more carjacking cases from October to December 2021.
Robberies at residential premises dipped by 0.4%, and robberies at non-residential premises increased by 86 more cases, resulting in 5138 such cases reported to the police.
Cash-In-Transit heists also decreased during this reporting period. Compared to the previous reporting period, there were five fewer cash vans targeted by criminals.
Kidnapping in South Africa
A total of 2 605 kidnapping cases were opened over the period.
This crime trend has shown a decrease in only two provinces, and the leading motive for this crime is hijacking, followed by robbery and rape-related kidnappings.
There have been 686 more kidnapping cases compared to the same comparative period.
What are your thoughts on the local and national crime figures? Share your views in the comment section below.
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Comments 1
Reminding you that the stats were lower in 2020 and 2021 because it was mostly lockdown and not because of successful policing. Please give us the statistics of how many policemen/women were involved in some of these crimes. And the statistics of how many criminals were actually caught and successfully prosecuted and jailed. There are many more crimes and theft committed that are not even reported because its pointless. To throw out numbers so it can seem someone is doing their job doesn’t mean anything to the citizens that are fed-up with lies. Mr Cele was trying to explain that he knew nothing about the July protests and today we must believe the statistics he’s giving us. Thousands of Police weapons were stolen……how many have been located?