Northern Cape Premier Dr Zamani Saul has expressed concern about the increase in contact crimes – such as rape, murder and attempted murder – in the Province.
NORTHERN Cape Premier Dr Zamani Saul has expressed concern about the increase in contact crimes – such as rape, murder, attempted murder and assault – in the Province.
Saul made the remarks following the announcement of the fourth quarter crime statistics for the 2021/22 financial year presented by Northern Cape acting provincial commissioner Major-General Koliswa Otola.
Saul said that the current crime figures call for more meaningful partnerships between the SAPS, civil society and the provincial government.
Saul called on the MEC for Transport, Safety and Liaison to “commence earnest work on forming a credible and practical plan of action to drastically reduce crime” in the Province.
He said the plan of action will be presented to the executive council for adoption after being discussed with the relevant structures.
The Northern Cape crime statistics revealed a 20.3% increase in murder cases.
A total of 16 more murder cases were recorded compared to the same quarter the previous year. There were 98 murders and the majority of the victims were male, of which the oldest was an 88-year-old man and the youngest a 17-year-old boy.
There were two reported incidents where murders were committed against the farming community – one in Jan Kempdorp and the other in Vanwyksvlei.
The Province also had three reported murder cases where there were two victims per incident. The one incident was as a result of “mob justice” in Roodepan, while the second incident resulted from a fight that broke out at Tswelopele Correctional Centre.
The Province recorded 16 murder incidents that were domestic violence related.
The Frances Baard District recorded 32 murder cases, which is the highest in the Province, an increase of seven cases (a 28% increase).
It was followed by the ZF Mgcawu District with 27 cases, an increase of nine cases.
Pixley ka Seme District recorded an increase of one case, while the JTG District remained constant with 14 cases. The Namakwa District recorded a decrease of one case.
A total of 45 people were murdered in public places, while the second most likely place for a murder to occur was at the home of the victim or perpetrator (26 cases).
Liquor outlets were identified as the third most likely place, with four murder cases reported.
The Province also saw an increase of 23 reported rape cases (a 9.4% increase). This amounts to 267 cases as compared to the 244 cases reported in the same period in 2021.
The Frances Baard District again led the way, with 90 cases, despite reflecting a decrease of 13 cases (12.6%).
JTG was second with 60 reported incidents, reflecting an increase of six cases (11.1%).
The Pixley ka Seme District experienced the highest increase, with 25 cases, amounting to an 89.3% increase.
The Namakwa District saw an increase from 16 to 22 cases (37.5%), while ZF Mgcawu reflected a decrease from 43 cases to 42 cases.
Out of 218 rape cases reported in the Province, 146 incidents occurred at the residence of the victim or perpetrator, a residence known to them.
Another 61 rape incidents occurred in public places, while four incidents occurred involving a mode of transport such as a bus, taxi or car.
There was also an incident that occurred within a guest house and at an educational facility.
In the cases where the relationship between perpetrator and victim were specified, the suspect was an acquaintance of the victim in 51 cases, while in 43 cases the perpetrator was a family member.
In 11 reported rape cases the perpetrator was the victim’s ex-boyfriend, while 44 incidents of rape were domestic violence related.
Based on the victim’s age and gender, 152 are female adults, 10 are male adults, three are male children, and 56 are female children.
Mothibistad, Kimberley and Galeshewe recorded the highest incidents of rape. Galeshewe did, however, record a decrease of 10 cases (45.5%).
Attempted murder increased with 152 cases, assault GBH increased with 335 cases and common assault increased with 272 cases throughout the Province.
Attempted murder reflected an increase of 152 cases.
The Frances Baard District recorded the highest reported incidents of attempted murder with 104 cases, an increase of 48 cases.
The Province recorded 3,381 assault cases general, of which most were stabbings, with the causal factor in 165 cases being arguments at public places followed by residential places.
Out of 1,991 cases of assault GBH, 150 victims were children under the age of 17, of which 599 were females.
Assault GBH increased with 335 cases (20.2%).
Galeshewe police station meanwhile took position 21 on the National Top 30 stations, with an increase of 26 reported assault cases.
Aggravating robberies such as carjacking increased with two cases (33.3%).
Robbery at residential premises reflected a decrease of four cases (12.1%), while common robbery reflected an increase of 1.1%.
Jan Kempdorp was the highest reporting station with six reported cases and reflected an increase of five cases (500%) compared to the same period in 2021.
Tsineng followed with an increase of four cases, with Kuruman, Galeshewe, Postmasburg and Prieska all reporting an increase of two cases per station.
Kakamas saw a decrease of five cases while Kimberley decreased with four cases.
The majority of the robbery at residential cases were committed with knives, while firearms were the instruments mostly utilised to commit robbery aggravating crimes.
Contact-related crimes reflected an overall increase of 190 cases, a percentage increase of 22.9%, with both sub-categories reflecting increases.
Arson increased by 13 cases (46.4%) and malicious damage to property increased by 177 cases (22.1%).
Frances Baard was the highest reporting district for malicious damage to property (36.3%), while JTG District was the only district in this crime category that reflected a decrease.
Kimberley police station was the highest reporting station with 124 cases.
Frances Baard was the highest reporting district for arson and reflected an increase of 10 cases.
Pixley ka Seme also reflected an increase, while ZF Mgcawu and JTG reflected decreases and Namakwa remained constant with three cases.
Kimberley and Roodepan police stations appeared on the top-30 list nationally, with Kimberley in position five and Roodepan in position 21.
Kimberley also appeared on the top-30 nationally for malicious damage to property (number 24), with an increase of 35 cases.
The Frances Baard District reported the highest incident of property-related crime with 1,077 cases.
JTG also reflected an increase, with 493 incidents compared to 429 incidents in the same period in 2021.
Burglary at non-residential increased with 82 cases, a percentage of 15.5%.
Theft of motor vehicle and motorcycle increased with six cases (14.6%), while stock theft increased by 18 cases.
Burglary at residential premises decreased by three cases, and theft out of motor vehicle decreased by 77 cases.
There were 92 incidents of burglaries at schools recorded during this period and 25 incidents of burglaries at liquor premises.
Saul said burglaries at schools are a great concern because this indicates that the criminals do not care about the government’s efforts to improve children’s education.
He highlighted that the Northern Cape is the only province in the country with an increase in this crime, with an increase of 82 cases.
Frances Baard and Namakwa districts reflected decreases in the burglary at residential category and an increase in the burglary non-residential category.
Namakwa was the only district to reflect a decrease in burglary non-residential.
All theft not mentioned elsewhere and commercial crime increased, except for shoplifting.
The Kimberley station area recorded the highest reporting incidents, with 337 reported cases followed by Galeshewe with 129 cases and Roodepan with 114 cases.
Kidnappings increased by three cases to 23 reported cases in the Province.
From the analysis it was determined that in 42.1% of the reported cases the suspects were known to the victims.
The highest reporting causative factors were revenge or punishment, mob justice, of which there were three incidents where a ransom was demanded.
