“During this quarter, we have managed to decrease 10 out of 17 of the community reported serious crimes, becoming the second best province with Northern Cape just edging ahead. This clearly indicates that we are on the right track in terms of focusing on our hot spot areas”, remarked Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene as she summed up the Crime Situation for the 3rd Quarter of 2023/2024 (October to December 2023) in Mthatha on 29 February 2024.
The Eastern Cape MEC For Transport and Community Safety, Mr Xolile Nqatha and Police Senior Management in the Province of the Eastern Cape released the crime statistics between October and December 2023.
Hon Nqatha asserted that “crime statistics offers us a platform to assess the implementation of our crime prevention and combating strategies in the province. As the provincial government, we are extremely concerned about violence perpetuated against women and children. We will redouble our efforts of fighting the scourge of violence against women and children. We believe that with the deployment of new Constables in the province, we hope that their deployment will enhance crime prevention in the province.
The province has shown a decrease of 2.7% on murder cases, with Mthatha showing some challenges as it reported the most cases of murder in the province.
The success of the high density operations that were conducted throughout the province contributed to a decrease in the following contact crimes:
– Attempted murder – decreased by 9.8%
– Common assault- decreased by 2.8%
– Rape decreased by 0.2%
– Sexual assault decreased by 3.5%
However, the contact crimes in general increased by 1.3%,
There were some crime categories, which were areas of concern, because of notable increases:
– Assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm increased by 2%
– Sexual offenses increased by 0.1%
– Common robbery increased by 4%
– Common robbery increased by 10%
Property crimes decreased by 5.4% , and most crimes under this category showed a decrease, with the exception of theft out of motor vehicles, which increased by 0.5%.
Already, the SAPS has increased the deployment of officers from specialised units in the hotspot districts, namely Nelson Mandela Bay, Buffalo City and OR Tambo. A full crime report for the Eastern Cape is available via https://www.saps.gov.za/services/crimestats.php
