KwaDukuza town (formerly Stanger) remains one of South Africa’s most crime-riddled communities.

This was confirmed in the third quarter crime statistics released last Friday, where the KwaDukuza Police Station ranked in the top-30 nationally in 10 crime categories. There are 1 154 stations across the country and statistics were published for 37 separate crimes. Third quarter statistics include crimes committed between October and December 2024.

KwaDukuza placed fourth nationally in sexual assault cases, with 13 reported. That is up four from the same time period last year and a five-year high. The station also finished 26th in sexual offences, which is an umbrella category that includes sexual assault, rape and attempted sexual offences.

There was a steep rise in attempted murder cases, increasing by 62.5% to 52 overall. Some other big risers include contact crimes against the person, which increased by 19 cases to 813 and cases of assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm – up 22 to 258. There were also two more cases of arson for a total of four.

Many categories saw a decline however, particularly community-reported serious crimes, which saw 77 less cases and 1 520 overall. Similarly, burglary at residential premises (down from 186 to 156), robbery with aggravating circumstances (down from 198 to 183) and robbery at residential premises (down from 51 to 40) showed positive movement. Illegal possession of firearms and ammunition was also down by two to 22.

No other station in the iLembe district finished in the top-30 in any category.

KwaDukuza Community Policing Forum chairperson, Dr Mfuneni Zungu, said the police station was critically under-resourced.

“For the past two financial years, we had a shortfall of 76 officers. So, any new officers we receive do not increase the overall number but merely fill the gap created by transfers, retirements, or deaths,” said Zungu.

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