Crime Stats by Province: What’s the state of law and order where you are?

It’s been another day of hard truths for South Africa, as the annual Crime Stats for the 2016/17 financial year were released to the public.

Although crime overall is down by 1.8%, there has been a rise in murders, carjackings and residential robberies in the 12-month period.

Bobby Stevenson, Shadow MEC for Safety and Security, has likened the situation to  “every person’s home is their castle” now becoming “every person’s home must be a fortress”. A view that reflects the growing dismay of South African residents.

So if you’re feeling brave enough, have a look for your province and see how you’re faring in the fight against crime this year. We’re looking at murder, sexual offences, attempted murder, GBH, and aggravated robberies as our key indicators for crime stats.

Crime Stats by Province:

Eastern Cape

• Murder: Down 0.6%, to 3,628 cases
• Sexual Offences: Down 8.5% to 8,050 cases
• Attempted Murder: Up 2.8% to 2,110 cases
• GBH: Down 6.3% to 23,241 cases
• Aggravated Robbery: Up 7.1%, to 13,688 cases

* This is a province with the highest murder rate in the country of 55.9 per 100,000 as well as the highest rape rate of 105.3 per 100,000.

Free State

• Murder: Down 4.3% to 950 cases
• Sexual Offences: Down 11.2% to 3,488 cases
• Attempted Murder: Down 11.8% to 694 cases
• GBH: Down 10.8% to 11,702 cases
• Aggravated Robbery: Up 7.7% to 5,147 cases

* FS managed to record a ten-year low for reports of sexual offences.

Gauteng Province

• Murder: Up 6.7% to 4,101 cases
• Sexual Offences: Up 0.6% to 9,566 cases
• Attempted Murder: Up 6.5% to 4,872
• GBH: Down 7.3% to 39,684 cases
• Aggravated Robbery: Up 8% to 53,793 cases

* There were more aggravated robbery cases in Gauteng than anywhere else in South Africa.

KwaZulu-Natal

• Murder: Up 2.2% to 4,014 cases
• Sexual Offences: Down 5.2% to 8,484 cases
• Attempted Murder: Down 3.1% to 3,914 cases
• GBH: Down 6.4% to 16,824 cases
• Aggravated Robbery: Up 6% to 22,327 cases

* This is the fourth year in a row the murder rate has increased in KZN.

Limpopo

• Murder: Down 9.5% to 813 cases
• Sexual Offences: Down 12.4% to 3,828 cases
• Attempted Murder: Down 5.3% 829 cases
• GBH: Down 8.4% to 12,948 cases
• Aggravated Robbery: Up 0.3% to 6,745 cases

* Limpopo is the best performing state on this list, recording the best average decrease across all five indicators

Mpumalanga

• Murder: Up 11.1% to 954 cases
• Sexual Offences: Down 3.5% to 3,216 cases
• Attempted Murder: Up 19.3% to 951 cases
• GBH: Down 4.1% to 10,896 cases
• Aggravated Robbery: Up 11.8% to 6,702 cases

* The attempted murder rate in Mpumalanga is the sharperst move in any direction, up or down, of the 2016/17 crime stats.

North West

• Murder: Down 0.7% to 901 cases
• Sexual Offences: Up 3.9% to 4,326 cases
• Attempted Murder: Down 0.1% to 898 cases (one less than last year)
• GBH: Down 6.5% to 12,731 cases
• Aggravated Robbery: Up 11.7% to 7,017 cases

* North West’s aggravated robbery rate is the worst it has been for more than a decade.

Northern Cape

• Murder: Down 7.1% to 344 cases
• Sexual Offences: Down 7.7% to 1,587 cases
• Attempted Murder: Down 16.4% to 550 cases
• GBH: Down 8.1% to 8,173 cases
• Aggravated Robbery: Up 8.5% to 1,505 cases

* Only once in the last 10 years has both NC’s murder and attempted murder rate been lower than it was for the 12 month period of 2016/17

Western Cape

• Murder: Up 2.7% to 3,311 cases
• Sexual Offences: Down 0.2% to 7,115 cases
• Attempted Murder: Down 1.7% to 3,387 cases
• GBH: Down 4.4% to 24,417 cases
• Aggravated Robbery: Up 1.3% to 24,032 cases

It’s been well documented that Western Cape murder levels are surpassing previous years. Indeed, the 3,311 cases in this year’s stats are the worst numbers for the province for the last 10 years. This is the fifth year in a row that WC’s murder rate has increased.