KZN once again tops the murder list
|Published
Durban - KZN again tops the list of infamy, producing the most number of murders and attempted murders in the country.
This emerged as Police Minister Bheki Cele released the latest SAPS quarterly crime stats to the parliamentary portfolio committee yesterday. The stats cover the period October to December 2021.
Nationally there were 6 859 murders, an increase of 8.9%. Here KZN registered more than a quarter of the national figure. There were 245 more killings in the province for a total of 1 682, an increase of 17%. That’s more than 18 people a day.
However, despite stubbornly reflecting the most number of murders, KZN is not the most murderous province. In terms of the number of murders per 100 000 population, the Eastern Cape registers 18.7, followed by the Western Cape with 15.1 and KZN with 14.2. Gauteng is next with 10.3, while Limpopo is the best with 4.7. The Western Cape showed a decrease in the number of murders for the second consecutive quarter.
The worst affected policing precincts for murder in KZN were Inanda, uMlazi and Plessislaer. KZN also had the highest number of multiple murders, with 92 dockets representing 209 people, including six people found dead in a home in Folweni and five people killed when a house was set alight in Phoenix. The province also saw an increase in the number of police officers killed, 12 compared with the previous 5.
In terms of gender-based violence, 902 women were killed ‒ an increase of 4.2% ‒ while 352 children died violently, a decrease of 5.6%.
Crimes in which alcohol played a role include 280 murders and 375 attempted murders compared with 16 and 15 respectively for drugs. There were 5 671 assaults with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH), compared with 34 involving drugs. Crime that actually occurred on licensed premises, whether bar, tavern, pub or nightclub, included 252 murders, 209 attempted murders, 90 rapes and 3 400 cases of assault GBH.
KZN topped the list for the number of attempted murders with 1 449, and increase of 15.1%. uMlazi, Inanda, Plessislaer and KwaMashu all feature prominently.
The province did see a 6.8% decrease in all sexual crimes with a total of 2 481, second to Gauteng with 3 033, but still above the national decrease of 9%.
The province recorded a 4.7% decrease in rape with 2 066 rapes. It is behind Gauteng with 2 356 rapes, but still above the national average which saw a decrease of 7.4%. That’s 22 rapes a day, almost one an hour, and that’s only those that are reported. uMlazi, Inanda and KwaMsane are the areas worst affected.
Kidnapping in the province jumped 11.3% with 491 cases, although Gauteng’s 1 200 cases represented a 111.3% increase.
Assault GBH saw a 7.1% decrease to 7 361 cases in line with the national average, and behind Gauteng with 10 798 cases, while common assault showed a small (0.2%) increase to 6 733 cases.
Robbery with aggravating circumstances increased 5.2% to 6 188. This is about half of Gauteng’s cases. Car jacking increased by 6.8% to 845 cases, some way behind Gauteng’s 2 824 cases. Truck hijacking decreased 6% with 19 cases.
In terms of property crimes, robbery at non residential premises decreased by 7.9% with 835 cases, about half of Gauteng’s, and the largest decrease nationally. However, robbery at residential premises increased 5.7% with 1 373 cases. Cash-in-transit robberies in the province were up with two more incidents for a total of 7. There were no bank robberies.
Arson in KZN was up 11.4% with 196 cases, the most nationally, while malicious damage to property was up 1.7% with 3 846 cases, in line with the national average. Burglary at non-residential property was down 9.5%, while at residential property it was down 12.8%.
The province also saw a welcome 5.1% decrease in vehicle theft with 1 605 vehicles stolen.
The province did see a substantial decline in the number of drug offences by 20.5% to 5 299 cases, doing substantially better than all other provinces. The Western Cape, which always leads this category, showed a 9% increase. Down too was driving under the influence by 15.1% with 1 958 cases.
The Independent on Saturday