Sandton Police Station reported the most carjacking incidents in the province and the second most nationwide between April 1 and June 30.
This was according to the quarterly crime statistics as announced by Minister of Police Bheki Cele, on August 20.
The minister said it was important to note that comparing this with the same period last year would leave the statistics ‘distorted’ due to the hard lockdown, which limited much movement in the first quarter of the previous year.
“It is important for us to give this particular context and adequate explanation upfront, to mitigate the shock and fears that may arise at this juncture.”
Sandton police saw an increase in the number of reported cases in most of the crime categories from the 2020/21 to 2021/22 quarterly period.
Contact crimes (murder, sexual offences, attempted murder, assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, common assault, common robbery and robbery with aggravating circumstances) increased from 106 to 183 reported incidents.
Sexual offences (rape, sexual assault, attempted sexual offences, and contact sexual offences) saw an increase from eight to 22 reported incidents.
Carjacking increased by 37 cases, to 68 incidents reported in the 2021/22 period.
Property-related crimes (burglary at non-residential premises, burglary at residential premises, theft of motor vehicle and motorcycle, theft out of/from motor vehicle and stock theft) increased from 152 to 303 reported incidents.
Other serious crimes – such as commercial crime, all theft not mentioned elsewhere and shoplifting – increased from 785 to 1 349 reported incidents.
Crime detected as a result of police action (illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, drug-related crime, driving under the influence and sexual offence detected as a result of police action) saw an increase from 58 to 109 incidents reported.
The Sandton Police Station also placed among the top 10 stations in the nation for contact sexual offences (four cases), commercial crime (254 cases), other serious crime (619 cases) and trio crime (111 cases).
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