THE crime statistics which were presented by the Minister of Police, Nkosinathi Nhleko, and the National Commissioner of Police, General Riah Phiyega, to the police portfolio committee have revealed that there were 782 more murders in 2014/15 compared with the previous year – an increase of 4.6 per cent.
Of the 27 crime categories presented in the data, only 11 had decreases in reported criminal activity from 2014 to 2015.
According to reports, Phiyega said contact crimes remained stubborn. She said there were 1 620 more sexual offences detected related to police action in 2014/15 compared with the previous year – an increase of 34.4 per cent. This brought the number up from 4 720 in 2013/14 to 6 340 in the current period.
Phiyega said a very large proportion of contact crimes involve those known to each other and frequently linked to arguments. She said perpetrators are largely young men and are unemployed, and some cases are related to domestic violence.
KwaZulu-Natal was rated second highest in the country for sexual offences.
Pinetown
In the Pinetown area, the number of murder cases that were reported increased by 20 cases compared to last year. Sexual offences decreased from 79 to 49 and robbery with aggravating circumstances also decreased from 1 035 to 1 013.
Hillcrest
In Hillcrest, the number of murder cases also increased from 34 to 37, while sexual offences decreased from 86 to 69. However, robbery with aggravating circumstances increased from 175 cases that were reported last year to 218.
Westville
In Westville, stats revealed that murder cases decreased from seven to two cases, with sexual offences also decreasing from 49 to 28.
Cases of robbery with aggravating circumstances dropped from 224 to 184.
Mariannhill
Cases of murder increased from 45 to 64, while sexual offences decreased from 154 to 102. Reports of robbery with aggravating circumstances escalated from 272 to 288.
Hammarsdale
In Hammarsdale, murder cases increased from 14 to 16. Cases of sexual offences increased from 12 to 18, with robbery with aggravating circumstances also increasing from 44 to 59.
KwaNdengezi
Cases of murder and sexual offences increase by 15 and 11 compared to last year, meanwhile robbery with aggravating circumstances decreased by 38 cases.
Inchanga
In Inchanga, murder cases that were reported increased from 16 to 23. Sexual offences decreased from 46 to 36 and robbery with aggravating circumstances increasing from 50 to 52 cases.
KwaDabeka
While most areas in the Highway area have shown a pattern of increase in murder cases, KwaDabeka statistics revealed a decrease from 62 to 59. Sexual offences also decreased from 78 to 74. Robbery with aggravating circumstances increased from 143 to 166 cases reported.
Hijacking cases have shown a decrease in most Highway areas except for Hammarsdale, which indicated a slight increase from 11 to 12, and Marianhill, which increased from 46 to 69.
