Data from the 2018/19 Crime stats show that Nyanga and Delft, near Cape Town, appear as two of the most dangerous areas of residence in South Africa. According to the statistics released by the South African Police Service (SAPS) on Thursday, both these Cape Town settlements feature prominently regarding crimes such as murder, rape, car hijacking, house robbery, and cash-in-transit heists.
Nyanga is the top murder hot spot in the country, with 289 murder cases reported in the past year ending March 2019. This is followed by Delft, which has 247 reported cases and Khayelitsha, also in the Western Cape, came third with 221 cases.
The crime stats revealed a 3.9% increase in murders in the country.
Revelations of crime in the Cape Flats come as no surprise, the area is known to be a crime hotspot, with gang-related crimes being a regular occurrence. Earlier this year, government intervened by deploying the army as a way of reducing violent crimes in the area.
Sexual offences on the increase
The Inanda police station in KwaZulu-Natal leads with the number of reported cases of rape in the country. 338 cases of rape were reported in the area located north-west of Durban, with Lusikisiki and Thohoyandou reporting 280 and 268 cases of rape respectively. uMlazi and Delft also feature in these crimes against women with uMlazi having 262 cases and 224 for Delft.
The crime stats report reveals a 4.6% increase in sexual offences.
Aggravated robberies
Nyanga also features prominently in the car-hijacking and house robberies. Ivory Park, in the east of Johannesburg, has the highest number of reported house robberies; more than one case a day is reported in the area, with a total of 373 cases in the past year.
Honeydew, west of Johannesburg, has 329 and Nyanga is third with 266 reports.
Crimes against women and children
In the last few weeks, the country has been in mourning after a number of cases of violence against women and children. The murder of UCT student, Uyinene Mrwetyana, boxing champion Leighandre Jegels and the case of self-confessed rapist, Nicholas Ninow have left the country reeling in anguish and pain from the everyday threats faced by South African women and children.
Whilst government is still trying to find ways to deal with these crimes – which seem to be an everyday occurrence in many parts of the country. Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, has pleaded with the country to work together with the police in fighting crime in the country.
“Last week Friday we had a fruitful meeting with the institute for security studies. I am intending to meet other relevant stakeholders in the sector like Corruption Watch, Social Justice Coalition, the academic fraternity and all people that are willing and available to make a positive contribution to the reduction of crime. The joint intergovernmental approach to the fight against crime will also yield positive results going forward, because fighting crime is everybody’s responsibility.”
Most alarming on the report is the increase in the number of contact crimes across all provinces and the number of murders committed by children standing at 736 in total.
During this year’s State Of The Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa made a commitment to halve the number of violent crimes in the country within the next ten years.
For more see infographic below:
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