Crime stats: This province is the murder capital of South Africa

Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu on Friday released the third-quarter crime statistics for 2024/2025.

The third quarter ran from 1 October 2024 to 31 December 2024.

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In incredible 75.6 people were murdered in South Africa per day in the 92-day period.

That equates to 3.15 every hour.

While the number is shockingly high, incredibly, it represents a decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

“The statistics we present today show a significant shift in our national crime landscape. Encouragingly, we have observed an overall decrease in several categories of crime,” Mchunu said.

The minister said police confirmed:

• A 9.8% decrease in murder cases (6 953 murders between October and December 2024 compared to 7 710 murders in the same period in 2023)
• A 3.3% reduction in rape cases (11 803 rape cases between October and December 2024 compared to 12 211 rape cases in the same period in 2023)

Of the 6 953 murders recorded, police said 1 453 were amid arguments, 405 were robbery-related killings, 389 were vigilante attacks, 294 were gang-related murders, and 57 were taxi-related murders.

Mchunu said firearms remain the weapon of choice during crimes and 2 886 of the cases reported.

Of the murder victims, he said 961 were women and 273 were children.

Presumably the other 5 719 (82.2%) were men.

Police recorded 12 farm murders between October and December 2024.

Worst provinces

Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal were the highest contributors to the national murder figures, accounting for 25% and 21.4% respectively, followed by the Eastern Cape with 18.9% and the Western Cape with 17.4%.

The minister added that: “The Western Cape continues to record the highest number of gang-related murders, with 263 counts reported in this quarter alone. This is completely unacceptable, and it must change, and we will ensure that it does change.

“A large number of these murders (collectively amounting to 135) occurred in Bishop Lavis, Mitchells Plain, Kleinvlei, Delft and Elsies River. These are Cape Town’s own murder meccas.”

Murders per province

Rank	Province	Murders
1	Gauteng	1 741
2	KwaZulu-Natal	1 493
3	Eastern Cape	1 300
4	Western Cape	1 198
5	Mpumalanga	350
6	North West	296
7	Free State	263
8	Limpopo	203
9	Northern Cape	109

Stock theft

Meanwhile, stock theft decreased by 4.5%.

However, the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape face challenges in this regard. 

Mchunu said interventions will be put in place to address the theft of livestock in these provinces. 

“No one should consider themselves to be untouchable. This is also a warning to those who target police in their criminal activities,” Mchunu said. 

What – if anything – shocks you most about the latest crime stats?

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