Western Cape Crime Figures: Murder rate remains major concern for authorities

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Western Cape Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile says there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in the province, as far too many local police stations are featured on the top 30 murder stations.

 

This relates to the number of police stations that deal with the most murder cases.

 

He was speaking in Cape Town on Monday morning, at the release of the provincial crime statistics. This follows Friday’s release of the national quarterly crime statistics, which was relayed by the Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu.

 

“We continue to see a number of police stations from the province among the top 30 murder stations in the country. In other words, we still have areas of concern in this regard. Philippi East, Lwandle, Samora Machel, Delft and Kraaifontein are among those who have been highlighted.

 

Here is a breakdown of the crime statistics for the Western Cape for the 4th Quarter (January to March 2025):

 

 

📌 Contact Crimes (Crimes Against the Person)

 

  • Murder: 1,068 (↓ 4.0%)
  • Sexual Offences: 1,755 (↓ 3.3%)
  • Rape: 1,189 (↓ 4.3%)
  • Sexual Assault: 411 (↑ 3.8%)
  • Attempted Sexual Offences: 101 (↓ 12.2%)
  • Contact Sexual Offences: 54 (↓)
  • Attempted Murder: 1,143 (↓ 8.4%)
  • Assault GBH: 6,465 (↑ 2.1%)
  • Common Assault: 11,826 (↓ 0.5%)
  • Common Robbery: 2,714 (↓ 6.2%)
  • Robbery with Aggravating Circumstances: 5,225 (↓ 9.1%)

 

📌 Aggravated Robbery Subcategories

 

  • Carjacking: 563 (↓ 23.5%)
  • Robbery at Residential Premises: 524 (↓ 3.3%)
  • Robbery at Non-Residential Premises: 218 (↓ 35.1%)
  • TRIO Crimes (Carjacking + Residential + Non-residential): 1,305 (↓ 19.1%)
  • Cash-in-Transit Robbery: 1 (no change)
  • Truck Hijacking: 12 (↓ 22 counts)

 

📌 Contact-Related Crimes

 

  • Arson: 190 (↑ 8.6%)
  • Malicious Damage to Property: 6,538 (↓ 2.3%)

 

📌 Property-Related Crimes

 

  • Burglary (Non-Residential): 1,330 (↓ 21.2%)
  • Burglary (Residential): 5,445 (↓ 12.1%)
  • Theft of Motor Vehicle/Motorcycle: 1,007 (↓ 14.8%)
  • Theft from Motor Vehicle: 4,978 (↓ 11.3%)
  • Stock Theft: 158 (↓ 4.8%)

 

📌 Other Serious Crimes

 

  • All Other Theft: 13,295 (↓ 5.0%)
  • Commercial Crime: 7,244 (↑ 7.5%)
  • Shoplifting: 1,763 (↓ 23.2%)

 

📌 Crimes Detected as a Result of Police Action

 

  • Illegal Firearms & Ammunition: 909 (↑ 31.0%)
  • Drug-Related Crime: 23,880 (↑ 21.2%)
  • Driving Under the Influence: 2,384 (↑ 7.8%)
  • Sexual Offences Detected by Police: 8 (↓)

 

📌 Total Summary

 

  • 17 Community-Reported Serious Crimes: 72,144 (↓ 4.8%)
  • Crimes Detected via Police Action: 27,181 (↑ 20.1%)

 

 

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