If not for a single cash-in-transit heist, the Brakpan Police Station would not have featured on any of the lists of the top 30 stations that recorded the highest number of serious crimes from January to March this year.
The incident, which took place on January 7 and resulted in the death of a 44-year-old motorist, pushed the Brakpan Police Station to 29th position on the list of top 30 stations in the country for this category of crime.
This was revealed in the fourth quarter crime statistics released last Friday. The local SAPS does not feature on any of the other national lists.
The full stats for Brakpan are as follows and are compared to the same period for the previous year:
Contact crimes (crimes against a person)
• Murder increased from one case the previous year to two.
• Sexual offences increased from 18 to 19.
• Attempted murder increased from five to six.
• Assault GBH decreased from 28 to 19.
• Common assault decreased from 85 to 62.
• Common robbery increased from nine to 15.
• Robbery with aggravating circumstances increased from 57 to 90.
Total contact crimes increased from 203 to 213.
Sexual offences
• Rape increased from 10 cases the previous year to 13.
• Sexual assault deceased from eight to five.
• Attempted sexual offences remained the same and no cases were reported.
• Contact sexual offences increased from no cases to one.
Total sexual offences increased from 18 to 19.
Some subcategories of aggravated robbery
• Carjacking increased from 13 cases the previous year to 22.
• Robbery at residential premises increased from 13 to 18.
• Robbery at non-residential premises increased from 11 to 14.
• Robbery of a cash-in-transit vehicle increased from no cases to one.
• Bank robbery remained the same and no cases were reported.
• Truck hijacking remained the same with two cases.
Contact-related crimes
• Arson increased from no cases the previous year to one.
• Malicious property damage decreased from 47 to 36.
Total contact-related crimes decreased from 47 to 37.
Property-related crimes
• Burglary at non-residential premises decreased from 32 cases the previous year to 24.
• Burglary at residential premises decreased from 77 to 67.
• Theft of motor vehicles and motorcycles decreased from 41 to 38.
• Theft out of or from motor vehicles increased from 27 to 39.
• Stock theft increased from none to one.
Total property-related crimes decreased from 177 to 169.
Other serious crimes
• All theft not mentioned elsewhere increased from 181 cases the previous year to 243.
• Commercial crime decreased from 77 to 73.
• Shoplifting decreased from 55 to 49.
Total other serious crimes increased from 313 to 365.
Reported serious crimes increased from 740 to 784.
Crime detected as a result of police action
• Illegal possession of firearms and ammunition increased from eight cases the previous year to 16.
• Drug-related crime increased from 81 to 106.
• Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs decreased from 43 to 31.
• Sexual offences detected as a result of police action remained the same and none were detected.
Total crime detected as a result of police action increased from 132 to 153.
Information obtained from saps.gov.za
