Mpumalanga records 16% murder rate

HIGHVELD – Mr Vusi Shongwe, MEC for the Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison, said the 16.4 per cent murder rate in the 2013/2014 crime statistics is of grave concern.

“The figure is even more than the national murder rate.”

According to the crime statistic released on Friday, 19 September, the national murder rate increased by five per cent.

Mr Shongwe said cluster stations such as Witbank, Pienaar, Acornhoek, KwaMhlanga, Middelburg and Secunda collectively contributed to about 55 per cent of the total number of contact crimes reported for the period under review.

Contact crimes included murder, attempted murder, sexual offences, assault with the intention to cause grievous bodily harm, common assault, aggravated robbery and common robbery.

“We have been encouraged by the decrease in the sexual offences category.

“Assault with the intention to cause grievous bodily harm and common assault decreased.

“Incidences relating to common robbery have also gone down.

“We have observed that most contact crimes take place among people who know each other and it is difficult to police this type of crime,” said Mr Shongwe.

Alcohol and drug abuse seemed to be contributing towards the committing of most contact crimes.

Mr Shongwe said most contact crimes happened over weekends, around midnight.

“We are going to monitor liquor traders’ compliance with their operating licences and those who are not complying, will have their establishments closed.”

Mr Shongwe said the latest crime statistic are not just numbers, but an indication of the level of violence that communities in Mpumalanga are still being subjected to.

“They are also an indication that we still have a lot of work to do with regard to defeating criminality in our country and province in particular.”

Contact-related crimes, such as arson and malicious damage to property, declined.

Mr Shongwe said the province could have done better were it not for sporadic service delivery protests.

“It is against this background that my department will convene all stakeholders for a peace and stability indaba that will be held in the current financial year.

“We are concerned about the protests that are ravaging our province and will not keep quiet about the matter.”

Property-related crimes remained stable, with a slight decrease in business and residential burglaries, vehicle and motorcycle theft, theft from motor vehicles, and stock theft.

Other types of theft such as commercial crime and shoplifting decreased.

Crimes dependent on police action for detection, included illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, drug-related crimes and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Illegal possession of firearms and ammunition increased.

Cash-in-transit robberies increased, while truck hijackings increased significantly.

Carjacking also increased slightly, while robbery in residential and non-residential areas decreased marginally.