Cape Town Central keeps top place in national crime stats

Cape Town Central police station remains top of the list for the most community crime reported in the country.

This is according to the most recent quarterly crime statistics, released by the South African Police Service (SAPS) last Friday, August 30. The statistics were recorded between January and March 2024.

The community reported crimes are made up of contact crimes including murder, sexual offences, attempted murder, all assaults, all robberies, carjacking, residential and non-residential robbery; arson and malicious damage to property; property-related crime including burglary, theft out of, from, or of motor vehicles and stock theft; and other crime including theft, commercial crime and shoplifting.

The statistics show that the number of incidents reported over these categories at Cape Town Central was 3332 - 243 incidents up from 3079 for the same time period.

Cape Town Central once again topped the list for common robbery with 468 incidents this year, 127 up from last year’s 341 for the same period.

The station placed first in the country for theft out of motor vehicle, with the numbers showing 575 this year, up from 519 last year; as well as first in the country for theft. However, theft cases show a decrease from 1 162 last year to 1 047 this year.

The station also moved up to first position for shoplifting from second position in the country last year. The numbers showed an increase from 139 last year, to 180 this year.

Crime detected by police action also increased from 493 last year to 1 529 this year. An increase in this category is good, as it shows proactive policing in the precinct.

Drug-related crime also showed an increase from 456 last year to 1 487 this year, placing Cape Town Central station in first place.

Station commander Brigadier Gerda van Niekerk said Cape Town Central kept topping the national list of crime due to the high volume of theft, theft out of motor vehicle and common robbery cases reported in the station precinct.

She said the high number of theft out of motor vehicle is due to the volume of vehicles that enter the city on a daily basis, as well as vehicles parking on the streets in residential areas because of lack of parking on residential property.

She said most robberies occur when cellphones and jewellery are grabbed by potential thieves, mainly near transport hubs, where there are daily influxes of people, and outside premises where liquor is sold and people visit and party over weekends.

Brigadier Van Niekerk said the increase in drug-related crime and crime detected as a result of police action were due to a number of arrests made during operations in hotspots for robbery as a preventative measure.

“Cape Town police have also concentrated on arrests for dangerous weapons as a preventative measure for robbery with a weapon other than a firearm.”

When comparing the spike in crime to last year for the same period, Brigadier Van Niekerk said there was a “daily” increase of people living on the streets, and suspected criminals live among them.

“There are ongoing efforts from the City to place these people in safe spaces. The SAPS will continue with operations in hotspots to help identify these suspects.

And although the police crime stats reflect that theft out of motor vehicle and robbery are still high, the City Central Improvement District (CCID), said their statistics for the city centre show a decrease in these categories.

The CCID footprint only covers the city centre - there are six policing sectors that fall under Cape Town Central police and three of them, namely sectors 1, 4 and 6, are in the CCID’s 1.6km footprint.

CCID security manager Jurie Bruwer said while there was a decrease in these crimes in the CBD, they were still prevalent and exacerbated by motorists who are not vigilant with their belongings and leave valuables inside their vehicles in full view of passers-by – and petty criminals. They also often forget to lock their vehicles.

He said the CCID runs crime prevention campaigns such as “stash before you dash”, reminding motorists to lock valuables in the boot of their vehicle before they start their trip, and to put away items such as wallets, cellphones and sunglasses.

He also said the decrease in crime was a direct result of the increased number of crime-prevention operations and maintaining a strong security presence in the city centre.

Brigadier Van Niekerk said the police have also increased police presence in the precinct, and will continue to work with security stakeholders to reduce crime.