Crime stats: Massive increase in drug crimes for Krugersdorp
Drug-related crimes reached an all-time high.
Key crime trends for the period 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 as recorded by the South African Police Service (SAPS) were presented to the public on Friday 19 September.
Since the release of the figures some residents were caused to grab for their passports while others have distanced themselves from the figures and predictions.
Crime statistics are released in September each year and include only crime reported to the police in the previous financial year.
The crime statistics report reflects on crimes reported under certain sub-codes at individual police stations.
Sub-codes are entered onto police dockets when a case is opened, capturing the nature or type of crime.
The annual report provides a national overview of crime trends and does not focus on specific areas, making findings very broad.
Online data capturing and reporting systems such as Crime Stats SA take a deeper look into the stats, providing residents with an independent overview of crime trends on a local level.
Residents can search by address, for their area on a map of South Africa and access crime statistics in the area where they live or work.
The following stats for Krugersdorp have been published, comparing 2013 and 2014, on the Crime stats SA website:
| Crime | Number of cases reported in 2013 | Number of cases reported in 2014 |
| Murder | 19 | 29 |
| Total Sexual Crimes | 144 | 94 |
| Attempted Murder | 21 | 26 |
| Assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm | 419 | 455 |
| Common Assault | 632 | 566 |
| Common Robbery | 276 | 325 |
| Robbery with aggravating circumstances | 316 | 436 |
| Arson | 18 | 22 |
| Malicious injury to property | 660 | 588 |
| Burglary at non-residential premises | 246 | 288 |
| Burglary at residential premises | 1206 | 1235 |
| Theft of motor vehicle and motorcycle | 536 | 504 |
| Theft out of or from motor vehicle | 507 | 584 |
| Stock-theft | 9 | 0 |
| Unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition | 20 | 24 |
| Drug related crime | 549 | 827 |
| Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs | 193 | 298 |
| All theft not mentioned elsewhere | 1540 | 1597 |
| Commercial crime | 347 | 392 |
| Shoplifting | 233 | 283 |
| Carjacking | 30 | 77 |
| Truck hijacking | 2 | 14 |
| Robbery at residential premises | 103 | 129 |
| Robbery at non- residential premises | 38 | 57 |
| Culpable homicide | 41 | 30 |
| Public violence | 2 | 6 |
| Crimen injuria | 49 | 30 |
| Neglect and ill-treatment of children | 4 | 2 |
| Kidnapping | 15 | 10 |
Drug abuse and drug-related crimes have been a growing social ill in Krugersdorp for the past ten years.
Alarming figures released by Stats SA shows that drug-related crimes increased from 549 reported cases in 2013 to 827 cases in 2014.
In 2004 the reports showed 100 drug-related crimes reported in Krugersdorp, which shows a growth in numbers since then.
