The South African Police Service’s crime stats for the third quarter of the 2022-’23 financial year, which runs from October to December 2022, have been released. These, broken down into three-month intervals, paint a dire picture of the crime situation in the Western Cape, with contact crimes (crimes against a person) up by 15,8% from October to December 2021 and October to December 2022.
Sexual offences, including rape, sexual assault and attempted sexual offences, have gone up by 16,1%, 8,3% and 15,6%, respectively, in the Western Cape from 2021 to 2022. Contact-related crimes, property-related crimes and other serious crimes have also risen by 6%, 9,2% and 8,5%, respectively, in the province. Kidnapping has also gone up, with 274 cases reported in 2022 compared to 234 cases the previous year. While most crimes have gone up and are indicated as red on the crime stats. The only green boxes are crimes that have been detected as a result of police action. These types of crimes that include illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, drug-related crimes, driving under the influence and sexual offences detected as a result of police action have all increased which means that the police are also stepping up and doing their jobs. But the golden question is how are our local stations fairing when it comes to crime?
Community reported serious crimes
Somerset West police station ranks 26th in the province after it has seen a decline of 17,9% with a 150 fewer of these serious crimes being reported by the surrounding community last year.
Contact and contact related crimes
Contact crime is referred to as a crime in which victims are the targets of violence or these victims are subjected to threats of violence by perpetrators.
Lwandle Police falls under the top 30 stations in the province when it comes to contact crimes. The station is rated at 24th with contact crimes that have gone up from 326 cases to 391 from 2021 to 2022 and this means that contact crimes have increased 19,9% in the Lwandle policing precinct during the last year.
Grabouw and Macassar police stations both saw an increase in contact related crimes. A total of 94 contact related crimes were reported at Grabouw during the last quarter of 2022 compared to a total of 91 at Macassar. Grabouw’s contact related crimes rose by 59,3% and Macassar’s rose by 15,2%.
Crimes against women on the rise
The crime stats also highlighted the plight of women in our society with murder, attempted murder and assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm (assault GBH) against women rising by 9,6%, 12,2% and 16,1% respectively in the province. The murders, attempted murders and assault GBH cases where children between the ages of 0 and 17-year-old has actually dropped in 2022 with 17,2%, 10,5% and 11,8% respectively.
Murder cases
Lwandle police station and Grabouw police station rank 12th and 19th in the province when it comes to the total number of murder cases reported, with Lwandle’s 26 and Grabouw’s 18. Grabouw actually dropped with two fever cases of murder reported in 2022 compared to the same period in 2021 while Lwandle saw an increase in two more murder cases being opened in 2022.
Murder of police members
The murder rate of on and off duty members of the police service also came under the spotlight as three murders of police officers were reported in the period from October to December in 2021 and in 2022 (October to December) three members of the police force were also murdered.
Constable Surprise Kwezi Mnqabe (33) from Lingelethu-West police station was one of the three officers that were murdered in 2022. Mnqabe succumbed to stab and gunshots wounds in Phaliso Street in Asanda Village (that falls under Lwandle police station’s policing precinct) between 06:30 and 06:45 on Christmas Day (25 December 2022). The bail application of the suspects accused of murdering Constable Surprise Kwezi Mnqabe (33) has been postponed numerous times since 10 January (“Four murder accused back in the docks,” DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette, 11 January).
Attempted murder
Strand and Grabouw police stations made the top 30 stations list in the Western Cape when it comes to the total number of attempted murders that were reported from October 2022 to December 2022. Strand ranked 13th with an increase of 23 attempted murder cases reported in 2022 up 15 from the previous year (October to December 2021)’s 8. Grabouw also saw an increase of attempted murder cases that went up from 5 in 2021 to 13 in 2022 (Oct to Dec 2022).
Sexual offences and rape
Lwandle police station took 13th place in the Western Cape when it comes to sexual offences cases opened at the station. A total number of 37 attempted murder cases were opened at Lwandle police between Oct 2022 to Dec 2022. This is an increase from 2021’s figure of 31. Lwandle ranks 87th countrywide when it comes to sexual offences reported in the last quarter of 2022. Lwandle made it to the 12th position in the Western Cape when it comes to rape cases. A total of 31 rape cases were opened in the last quarter of 2022 compared to 22 rape cases during the last quarter of 2021. Lwandle ranks 92nd in South Africa for rape cases opened during the period (Oct to Dec 2022).
Assault GBH
Macassar and Lwandle police stations were both in the red when it comes to assault GBH cases that are on the increase at both stations. Macassar saw an increase in assault GBH cases of 8,6% compared to 2021’s figures. While Lwandle saw an increase of 2,5% or two additional assault GBH cases being opened between Oct and Dec 2022.
Common robbery
Macassar police station made the list of the top 30 stations in the province that reported the most common robbery cases. A staggering 328,6% increase in common robbery cases have been reported at Macassar police for Oct to Dec 2022 with a total number of 30 common robbery cases that have been opened in this period. This is more then four times higher then the previous figure of 7 reported in the third quarter of 2021.
Robbery with aggravating circumstances
Lwandle and Strand both placed in the top 30 stations in the province when it comes to the total robbery with aggravating circumstances cases that have been opened at the stations. Lwandle placed 19th with a total of 96 cases and Strand police followed suit with 56 robbery with aggravating circumstances cases being opened at the station during October to December 2022. Lwandle also placed in the top 30 when it comes to trio crimes that also falls under robbery with aggravating circumstances. Trio crimes include carjacking, robbery at residential premises and robberies at non-residential premises. A total of 30 trio crime cases were opened at Lwandle police during the last quarter of 2022. In the carjacking stats Lwandle placed 18th in the top 30 stations in the Western Cape and they actually saw a decrease of 40% in carjacking in 2022. A total of 10 carjacking cases were opened at this station on the third quarter of 2021 compared to the slightly lower six for the last quarter of 2022. Macassar station who were placed in 26th saw an increase of a 100% with four carjacking’s in the third quarter of 2022 compared to only two in 2021.
Robbery at residential and non-residential premises
Lwandle Police Station took the first position when it comes to robberies at non-residential premises in the Western Cape. A total of seven robberies at non-residential premises were reported at the station during Oct to Dec 2022. Strand station took the 22nd spot for robberies at non-residential premises with a total of 5 cases being opened during Oct to Dec 2022. The positive point is Strand saw a decrease in the number of robberies at non-residential premises because in 2021 a total of 11 of these cases were opened at the station. In contrast, Lwandle police station was placed 21st when it comes to robberies at residential premises with the total number of these cases dropping to six in 2022 compared to the 12 in 2021 (Oct to Dec 2021). Somerset West took the 20th spot and they saw an increase of robberies at residential-premises up to seven from the previous year’s four.
Kidnapping
Lwandle Police Station redeemed themselves in the kidnapping stats when they had fever kidnappings reported at the station on 2022 with a total of three compared to the seven of 2021.
Arson
Grabouw took the 11th spot in South Africa for Arson crimes reported at the station during 2022 with a total of seven. In this same period four arson cases were opened at Lwandle police and two were opened at Strand police.
Malicious damage to property
Macassar and Grabouw police stations placed 26th and 29th respectively in the Western Cape for malicious damage to property cases during 2022. A total of 91 were opened at Macassar and 87 at Grabouw during October to December 2022.
Property related crimes
Strand and Somerset West police stations both placed under top 30 stations for property-related crime in 2022. A total of 191 property related crimes were reported at Strand, with a much higher figure of 271 reported at Somerset West Police Station. Somerset West took the 19th spot for burglaries at residential premises followed by Grabouw in the 25th spot and Strand in 27th. Strand and Somerset West both had a decrease of 25,5% and 12,3% in these types of crime in 2022. For burglaries at non-residential premises Somerset West took sixth place with a total of 46 cases opened from October to December 2022. During this same period 31 cases were also opened at Grabouw police station.
Theft of motor vehicles (m/v) and motorcycles and thefts out of m/v
Strand police station took the third spot in the Western Cape for the total number of thefts of m/v and motorcycles reported at the station with a total of 39 for the last quarter of 2022. A total of 32 cases were reported at Somerset West station for 2022. In thefts out of motor vehicles Somerset West took the lead with 100 cases opened followed by Strand with 54 for 2022. In other serious crimes cases Somerset West reported 431 and Strand had 287 of these types of cases. In theft not mentioned elsewhere Somerset West saw an increase of 1,9% with 211 cases and Strand saw an increase of 7,1% with 182.
Driving under the influence of alcohol
Grabouw Police Station had a massive increase of driving under the influence cases in 2022 with an increase of 464,3% from 2021’s 14 to 2022’s 79. Somerset West placed under the top 10 in the Western Cape with a total of 58 cases being reported in the last quarter of 2022.
Commercial crime
Somerset West Police Station was highlighted as the 28th station with the highest amount of commercial crime cases in South Africa and it ranked fifth in the Western Cape with a total of 156 cases for 2022. Strand ranked 13th in the province with 101 cases. Somerset West has also seen an increase of 4,9% in shoplifting with a total of 64 cases reported in 2022.
¦A special mention has to go out to Strand police station for placing 23rd countrywide and 17th in the Western Cape for crime detected as a result of police action. Strand police had a 55% increase and detected 328 cases from October to December 2022, it went up from 2021’s 211.
