KwaDukuza a national crime hotspot

Crime is a constant presence on the North Coast, with KwaDukuza Saps ranking among the highest for various crimes in the country.

Police stations in the area hope to combat the problem with grassroots education and extra multi-disciplinary operations.

This is a familiar refrain at the release of annual crime stats, where aside from some movement for the better or worse on specific issues, the level remains reasonably consistent.

At KwaDukuza Saps, 1 525 cases of serious crime were reported between January and March this year – 80 more than 2022 – which placed the precinct 21st nationally and fourth in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

Sexual offences are again the most damning statistic, where 45 cases registered put KwaDukuza 24th nationally and fifth in KZN.

All told, KwaDukuza was among the 30 highest stations countrywide for public violence, contact crimes, common assault and burglary in non-residential areas.

It featured among the top 30 in KZN for murder, rape, robbery, shoplifting and commercial crime.

“We have serious issues in some of our communities, which produce the majority of crime. Ntshawini, Thembeni and Doringkop are year-on-year the main areas of crime in KwaDukuza,” said KwaDukuza Saps spokesperson, constable Sipesihle Myeni.

“We are regularly going to schools to try and prevent the next generation from falling into a life of crime. A new weekly stop-and-search operation has also seen multiple recent arrests.”

Aside from unlicensed firearms, which continue to be cited as a major culprit, Myeni said the relationship between police and communities no longer yields the same result.

“People in these areas don’t want to help police anymore. I don’t know whether they are scared or don’t trust the police, but we do not get results from community interviews in the same way we used to,” he said.

Although neither Umhlali nor Tongaat Saps appeared in the overall top 30 stations in KZN, they do see individual crimes listed.

At Umhlali, sexual assault, commercial crimes, burglary in residential and non-residential areas all entered the top 30 provincially.

Tongaat has seen an increase in every single category of contact crime since 2022, for a total of 64 more cases to reach a total of 266.

That is the highest level it has hit in the last five years, even ahead of pre-Covid-19 numbers.

Criminals on the North Coast are becoming ever more brazen and significant policing input is going to be needed to see a general decline in the coming years.

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