Murders on the rise in Cape

KRAAIFONTEIN police station is once again on top of the 30 stations topping up murder statistics.

In the province, murders in the first quarter crime statistics compared to the same period last year have gone up by 114 cases.

Khayelitsha, Mfuleni, Kraaifontein, Delft, Nyanga, Gugulethu, Harare, Philippi East, Samora Machel and Mitchell’s Plain were also the top 10 police stations in the province where the most murders were reported.

Nyanga police station is the only one to have recorded a decrease when compared to last year.

Last year, the recorded murders were 1 020 and this year it is 1134.

Kraaifontein is number one in the top 30 stations in murder with 84 cases compared to 42 from last year.

Acting provincial commissioner police, Major-General Thembisile

of

Patekile, said murder is still problematic although it is stabilising.

Patekile said it does not matter if it is up by one case, murder is still problematic and needs the full attention of the police.

“Since we introduced the lockdown level 1 there has been a dent in crime since March because we are targeting the contributors which are drugs, alcohol and dangerous weapons,” he said.

He said car and truck hijackings were concerning with 75 cases more, and robberies in residential areas.

Police Minister Bheki Cele said 4 976 people were killed in the first three months of the year, with 387 more people killed compared to the corresponding period in the previous financial year.

Cele said the top four causative factors of these murders still remain arguments, robberies, residential, non-residential and street robberies, mob justice and gang-related incidents.

“More police boots and functional police patrol vehicles will always work in our favour,” he said.

He said improving and cultivating the partnership between the police and communities is more important now than ever.

“We cannot afford to give criminals terrorising communities any room to breathe.”

Cele added it is encouraging to see the emergence of some stability but also there are areas they must still address through shifting of resources.

Anine Kriegler, from UCT’s Centre of Criminology, said the overall volume of crime had gone down, and hopefully it would buy police some breathing room.

She said this means fewer people have come to the police’s door.

Kriegler said non-violent crimes have also seen a decline because people are living different lifestyles because of Covid-19 and don’t go out as much as before.

She said murder

is always on the rise and police need to find the reason behind the killings, and that all of society should look at why it is happening.

“We are not getting a hold on murder and police need to come up with a strategy to curb this,” she said.