Drug-related crimes sky-rocket
The latest crime stats show a spike in drug-related crime and residential burglaries on the North Coast.
Drug-related crime has almost doubled in the Umhlali and Tongaat SAPS areas of jurisdiction.
KwaDukuza SAPS was one of the only stations on the North Coast to record a decrease in drug-related crime, with 953 cases this year compared to 957 last year.
It spiked from 276 to 426 in Umhlali and 387 to 476 in Tongaat.
Despite KwaZulu-Natal recording the highest murder rate in the country, the murder rate on the North Coast has dropped.
National crime statistics, released on Thursday last week, painted a grim picture with KZN’s murder rate increasing by 11%.
The province also showed a 5% increase in sexual offences, 2,2% in assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and 13,1% increase in robbery with aggravating circumstances and 15,7% in housebreaking.
Statistics for Umhlali SAPS show an unchanged murder rate, with 25 cases reported last year and in the year under review (April 2012 to March 2013).
Murder in KwaDukuza (Stanger) has dropped with 47 cases reported this year compared to 57 last year, and in Tongaat with 17 reported cases, six less than last year.
Common assault decreased in KwaDukuza dropping from 766 cases last year to 684 this year and in Tongaat, from 358 to 296.
However it increased from 193 to 214 in Umhlali. Despite an increase in service delivery protests there were fewer cases of malicious damage to property reported, with Umhlali dropping from 104 to 96 and KwaDukuza from 345 to 305.
Burglary at residential premises increased in all three areas – 732 to 696 in KwaDukuza, 374 to 512 in Umhlali and 373 to 420 in Tongaat.
All three areas have shown a decrease in commercial crime and KwaDukuza and Umhlali have shown an increase in robbery at residential premises.
