Police head of crime research and statistics, Norman Sekhukhune has tabled statistics that showed that the Western Cape was the crime hotspot, with four of its major police stations in the top 10.
In the report delivered in Parliament on Friday, Sekhukhune said Cape Town Central police station was on the number one spot with 3,274 crimes reported in the second quarter of this year. This is an increase of 13.4%, as 2,887 cases were reported at the police station during the same period last year.
Sekhukhune said Durban Central was at number two, with 2,428 crimes reported between July and September, compared to 2,225 crimes reported at the police station in the second quarter of last year. This is an increase of 9.1%.
Sekhukhune also told the portfolio committee on police in the National Assembly on Friday that Mitchells Plain was on the third spot with more crimes reported there during the period under review.
He said between July and September 2,291 crimes were reported in Mitchells Plain compared to 2,119 in the second quarter of last year. This is an increase of 8.1%.
In Johannesburg Central police station there were less crimes reported during the second quarter and it was on position four. In the second quarter there were 2,084 crimes recorded by the South African Police Service (SAPS) compared to 2,150 during the same period last year. This was a decrease of 3.1%.
Sekhukhune said Midrand was number five, in terms of police station records on the crime rate in the country. He said in the second quarter, there was an increase of 2.3% in Midrand. In the second quarter of this year, there were 1,861 criminal offences reported at the police station, compared to 1,820 cases reported last year.
Stellenbosch saw a spike in crime during the second quarter, with 1,847 crimes reported, compared to 1,692 during the same period last year.
Sekhukhune said this was a 9.2% increase in the Stellenbosch area.
The police also said Delft in the Western Cape was on the seventh position, with an increase in crimes reported in the area.
During the second quarter of the year, there were 1,818 cases reported in Delft, compared to 1,557 cases in the second quarter of last year. This was an increase of 16.8%.
Park Road police station in Mangaung in the Free State was sitting on number eight, with 1,798 crimes reported in the second quarter, compared to 2,079 cases last year. This was a decrease of 13.5%.
Phoenix in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, saw a spike in crime, with 1,790 cases recorded in the last three months, compared to the same period last year. In the second quarter of last year there were 1,681 cases recorded in the area. This is an increase of 6.5%.
Roodepoort in Johannesburg saw a spike of 15.3% in crime. In the last three months, there were 1,768 cases reported, compared to 1,533 during the same period last year.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
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