Crime stats 2022: South Africa’s murder hotspots revealed

The Q4 crime stats released on Friday morning – based on data from January to March 2022 – has revealed South Africa’s most dangerous murder hotspots.

Based on the number of murders reported at certain police stations, it charts the regions where South Africans are most likely to be killed.

South Africa’s murder hotspots

KZN and WC most dangerous regions

The Umlazi Police Station in KwaZulu-Natal had had the most reported murder cases – a whopping 103 between January and March 2022.

Inanda and Plessislaer Police Stations, also in KZN, follow with 75 and 67 reported murders, respectively.

Other stations in the top ten of most reported murders include:

While the three most dangerous regions in the country all fall under KZN, the Western Cape dominates the list.

Gauteng is ninth, with 42 murders reported at Kagiso Police Station, and Eastern Cape rounds off the list with 42 cases at Mthatha Police Station.

Even though Khayelitsha made the top ten in terms of cases, it also showed the second-biggest decline in reported murders – see below.

Biggest spikes in murders

Meanwhile, the biggest murder spike was recorded at the Orange Farm Police Station in Gauteng – 36 murders had been reported in this region.

When compared to the 16 murders recorded during the same period in 2021, the murder rate in this region increased by 125%.

Only one other station showed a similar increase – Kwadabeka in KZN went from 15 cases between January and March last year to 33 cases this year, showing an increase of 120%.

Murder decline

As per the Q4 crime stats, the only stations which reported a decline in murders are: