Murders in the Western Cape are up 8.6% year on year, according to the most recent quarterly crime statistics. Between October and December 2023, 1 301 people were murdered, with 1 015 (78%) occurring in the City of Cape Town.
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Murders peaked in October at 482 people, then dropped to 367 in November before rising to 438 in December.
Six of the ten precincts with the most murders are in the Western Cape.
Mfuleni had the most murders (80), followed by Gugulethu (73), Nyanga (73), Khayelitsha (70) and Delft (68).
There were 60 cases in which multiple people were killed. Three victims were reported in 14 cases. In one case, four people were killed.
More than half of all murders occurred in a public space, such as a street, open-field park, or parking lot.
Guns were the most commonly used weapon in murders, accounting for 617 out of 1 275.
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During a presentation of crime statistics on Thursday, Western Cape Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile stated that police officers had been assigned to high-density operations in an effort to combat violent crime.
He added that local police have made progress in removing illegal firearms from the streets, which has an impact on violent crime.
Western Cape Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen called the increase in murders ‘distressing.’
He stated that gang violence was one of several factors driving murder rates.
Over the course of three months, the province saw 250 gang-related murders.
Premier Alan Winde stated that the province’s police were under-resourced, particularly in light of the growing population.
‘We are the fastest-growing province, so we should have the fastest-growing policing and criminal justice resources,’ he said.
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