Crime stats: Murder, kidnapping and theft on the rise in Gauteng

NEWS

Mawela presented the province’s crime statistics for the first quarter of the 2022/2023 financial year in the provincial legislature’s portfolio committee on community safety on Thursday. He said the SAPS had recorded 283 more murders compared to the same period last year.

He revealed that out of 1 490 cases, 155 women and 50 children were murdered, respectively.

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“Furthermore, 34 cases registered within the same period were related to domestic violence by 18 women. Further analysis of the murders recorded in the province has revealed what we already knew that firearms were frequently used to commit murder. Out of 1 490 cases of murder reported, 697 firearms were used, with Gauteng being the second-highest province where firearms are used,” he said.

He added that police had intensified their efforts to remove unlicensed firearms from the hands of the wrong people through intelligence operations, stop and searches and suspect raiding.

Mawela also revealed that there had been an increase in robberies with aggravating circumstances and business robberies. 

He added that kidnappings had increased significantly in Gauteng, with police recording 1 100 more incidents compared to the same period last year.

According to Mawela, police are concerned with the theft of cars and motorbikes, which recorded an increase. “If you look at previous reports, we were always doing well in that the crime category and the statistics were very much low. The deeper analysis is under way to understand the sudden rise of this subcategory.”

Theft recorded an increase of 6.2%, which translated to 17 870 cases more than the previous quarter. This had contributed negatively to the overall crime volumes of the province.

“If people stop stealing, surely we can reduce our crime stats.”