Gauteng records rise in murders and robberies

Between October and December 2023, Gauteng witnessed a surge in contact crimes, according to statistics released by provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni on Tuesday.

The province recorded an increase in contact crimes, with figures climbing from 50 039 in 2022 to 51 327 in 2023, marking a rise of 1 288 counts.

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Murder and attempted murder in Gauteng

Contact crimes are those in which the victims are the targets of violence or are in the vicinity of property that criminals target and are subjected to the use of/or threats of violence.

Among the 1 288 counts, robbery with aggravating circumstances recorded the highest increase, with 716 reported incidents (13,729 counts in 2022 to 14,445 in 2023), followed by assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm at 481 counts (11,285 in 2022 to 11,766 in 2023).

Attempted murder increased by 152 counts (1,625 in 2022 compared to 1,777 in 2023), while murder itself saw an increase of 66 counts (1,721 in 2022 compared to 1,787 in 2023).

There were slight reductions in sexual offences (79 fewer counts – 3,145 in 2022 compared to 3,066 in 2023) and common assault (57 fewer counts – 14,357 in 2022 compared to 14,300 in 2023 ) compared to the same period in 2022.

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Property-related crimes also witnessed a surge, with residential robberies increasing from 2 130 to 2 229 incidents, while hijackings rose from 2 632 to 3 010 counts during this quarter.

Theft of motor vehicles and motorcycles also increased, from 4 887 in 2022 to 5 079 in 2023, with 192 more vehicles stolen.

Robberies targeting cash-in-transit vehicles decreased from 27 incidents in 2022 to 16 in 2023.

The crime stats further showed that Gauteng residents have a tendency to escalate their arguments, misunderstandings and road rage incidents, which led to 185 counts of murder.

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This as 154 counts of murders were recorded during robberies.

A total of 84 deaths were linked to vigilantism or mob justice.

Where murders take place

Public spaces, including streets, parks, and parking areas, witnessed the highest number of murders, totalling 956 counts.

This as residences of perpetrators or victims were locations of 388 murders.

Liquor outlets, modes of transports and public transport premises such as bus stops, taxi ranks and railway stations accounted for 55, 40 and 24 counts, respectively.

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Weapons used for murders include firearms, which accounted for 892 murders, knives (188), sharp instruments (71), body parts (35), blunt instruments (29) and stones, bricks or rocks (24).

The statistics further showed that 77 people were kidnapped for ransom between October and December 2023, with seven kidnapped for human trafficking purposes.