Worrying crime trends develop in Durban
Crime has increased by 18 per cent across the city.
BLUE Security has released crime statistics which show a double-digit rise in the number of crimes reported to the company’s control centre in Durban during December.
The stats also revealed a notable increase in serious and violent crimes compared to the same period in 2015, and operations manager Brian Jackson said the company had noted the worrying trend which was significant even when taking growth into account.
He said crimes were reported across the city from Umhlanga, Phoenix and Durban North to Chatsworth, Amanzimtoti, Berea, Glenwood, Westville and the Highway and Upper Highway areas.
Jackson said according to the statistics released by the company this week, the number of incidents reported for the period rose 18 per cent from 493 to 606 incidents ranging from crimes such as attempted housebreak-in, vandalism and theft to housebreak-in, hijacking and armed robbery.
“The number of hijackings remained unchanged but armed robberies at residential properties rose 62 per cent and armed robberies at business premises increased by 58 per cent,” Jackson said.
He said residential housebreak-in increased by 18 per cent, however business burglaries declined by 26 per cent.
Jackson said an analysis of the company’s crime statistics showed that almost 20 per cent of crimes reported in December were committed on a Wednesday, followed by 18 per cent on a Friday and 16 per cent on a Thursday, while just under nine per cent were committed on a Monday, when criminals were least likely to strike.
He said the pattern was completely different to the same period last year when criminals were most likely to strike on a Wednesday (almost 18 per cent), followed by a Monday (16 per cent) and a Thursday (almost 16 per cent) with Friday (10 per cent) being the quietest day for the company’s control centre and its armed response team on the ground.
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