Gauteng sees rise in contact crimes in first quarter – SAPS
Contact crimes in Gauteng increased by 6% during the first quarter of the year when compared to the same period last year, police commissioner Elias Mawela told the provincial legislature on Tuesday.
Gauteng contributed 27.9% to the national’s overall crime statistics between April and June 2023.
"We were able to maintain the provincial contribution at an average of 27% over the period of five years, of which have since observed a slight reduction of 0.4 percentage points between 2019 and 2023 from 28.3% to 27.9%, which is equivalent to 10 170 counts less," Mawela said.
Mawela said although the decrease might seem insignificant, the percentage reduction is an indication that fewer people were affected by crime.
Contact Crimes
Contact crimes increased by 6% for this quarter compared to the same period in 2022.
Mawela said assault and assault with intend to cause grievous bodily harm are still the main contributors to overall contact crimes in the province.
Assault increased by 11.3% whereas GBH increased by 7.8% with a combined 20 088 counts more.
"A total of 13 214 suspects were arrested for the category of contact crime,” said Mawela.
Decrease in murders
The province observed a decrease in murder incidents.
A total of 1 489 people, including 167 women and 47 children, were killed during the first quarter.
"Although the reduction is with a small margin it is still important for us because every win counts" He said.
Arguments, robberies and vigilantism are some of the top contributing factors to the number of murders in Gauteng.
Mawela said the province experienced a spike in police killings between April and June.
"Twelve police officers lost their lives. Eight officers were killed off-duty and four lost their lives on-duty.”
Sexual offences
The number of reported sexual offences decreased by 1% during the first quarter.
"Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences and Social Crime Prevention supported by Corporate Communication and Liaison, working with other stakeholders are continuing to conduct focused crime awareness campaigns in an effort to reach out to all communities affected by the scourge of sexual offences," Mawela said.
Robberies and Hijackings
Mawela confirmed that robbery with aggravating circumstances increased by 1.5%, which translated to 203 counts more than the same period last year.
He says this is due to the increase by robberies at residential premises and robberies at business premises by 13.7% and 1.8% respectively.
Police were able to recover 1 036 stolen/hijacked vehicles and 120 vehicles used in the commission of crime.
Truck hijackings also decreased by 4.0%, recording 12 less counts as compared to the same period last year.
Robbery of cash-in-transit also decreased by 38.9%.
Illegal mining
A total of 9 393 undocumented people were arrested, with some of these suspects linked to illegal mining activities in the province.
Mawela said the increase in a number of suspects nabbed reflects police visibility on the ground as well as the positive impact of their operations targeting illegal firearms and drugs.
Mawela said load shedding continued to have a negative impact on policing, and the safety and security of communities.
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