The latest crime statistics for KwaZulu-Natal reveal a decrease in murder and rape cases, but an alarming rise in other contact crimes.
The second quarter (Q2) crime stats for 2024 were released by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu for the months of July to September showed a decrease in murder, rape, and hijacking cases in KwaZulu-Natal, while other crimes like assault and cash-in-transit heists increased.
The stats revealed that the murder rate in KZN has decreased by 10.9% from 1 603 in 2023 to 1 428 in 2024.
Sexual offences saw a marginal 2% decrease from 2 582 last year to 2 530 during the same period this year.
Rape also decreased by 3.8% from 2 172 in the second quarter last year to 2 046 in the same period in 2024.
However, crimes like attempted murder, assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, and common assault increased by 3.9%, 7.5%, and 7.1% respectively compared to the previous year.
With regard to aggravated robbery, hijackings dropped from 880 last year to 728 this year, marking a 17.3% decrease. There were also 12 fewer truck hijackings this year compared to Q2 last year, from 48 to 36.
However, cash-in-transit heists increased from 8 incidents in Q2 last year to 11 over the same period this year.
Property-related crimes such as burglary at residential and non-residential properties, theft of motor vehicles, and stock theft showed an improvement across the board.
In terms of crimes detected as a result of police action, there was a 5.6% increase in drug-related crimes from 6 325 incidents in Q2 last year compared to 5 969 this year. Illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and sexual offences all showed improvement.
Gareth Newham, director of the Justice and Violence Prevention Programme at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), said for the most part, the crime statistics presented some good news for KZN in that murders have again decreased by a notable 10.9%, which is almost double the national decrease.
“We also welcome the reduction in the numbers of police officials killed, which dropped from six to three. This is good news and we hope that this trend continues,” he said.
However, Newham said violent crime remains a challenge, with Inanda recording the most murders of all police precincts in the country, and 30% of the most violent precincts in the country (10 out of 30) falling within the province.
“KZN also recorded the most multiple murders of all provinces, with 71 incidents resulting in the deaths of 164 people in this quarter,” he noted.
While it is good news that murder decreased, Newham said KZN still recorded the highest increase in total violent or contact crime when compared to all other provinces. “This is largely due to more assault cases being reported to the SAPS.”
DA spokesperson on Police, MP Ian Cameron, said the latest crime statistics for the months of July to September showed a step forward in the fight against crime.
However, he warned against becoming complacent as the country’s rates of crime remain some of the highest in the world. “We must remain steadfast in bringing safety to communities, homes, and businesses. We are far from there yet.”
Cameron said crimes against women and children remain a concern, stating that while violent crime quarterly has decreased, yearly, murders of women have increased by 8.6% and attempted murders by 3.5%.
“We have also seen this with children. There has been a 7.5% increase in the murder of children; a staggering 33.7% increase in attempted murder; and a 6.8% increase in assault (GBH),” he said.
He also noted that there has been an alarming 18.5% increase in commercial crimes, which speaks to the rise of extortion activities across the country.
Cameron added that capacity challenges and strained personnel in terms of crime intelligence, technology, and forensics still continue and advised that without robust support in these divisions, sustainable crime reduction will be difficult.
He said all of SAPS management must be subject to skills and financial audits and warned that the party continues to see disharmony in the country's overall criminal justice strategy.