South Coast crime stats spike

KWAZULU-NATAL is the most violent province in South Africa, according to the 2012/2013 crime statistics released by minister of police, Nathi Mthethwa recently.

Although aggravated robberies throughout South Africa showed a 1.2 percent increase, most of the crime committed in KZN was street robbery, which constituted 56 percent of the crime rate in the province.

Attempted murder decreased by 6.8 percent over the last four years; but during the past financial year there had been an increase of 6.5 percent countrywide. According to the minister, the main reasons for the increase in the attempted murder figures are taxi-related violence, illegal firearms, stranger violence and liquor-related killings. KZN also recorded a 22,9 percent increase in cases relating to driving under the influence of alcohol, the highest increase in the country.

Murder is up by 0.6 percent countrywide, despite a 16.6 percent decrease over the last four years. The minister stressed that various measures will be taken to deal with this issue.

Of the 10 South Coast police stations – Port Edward, Gamalakhe, Margate, Paddock, Izingolweni, Harding, Port Shepstone, St Faiths, Southport and Hibberdene – mentioned, Hibberdene topped the murder list with 38, up from 26 during 2011/2012 and Harding with 37 (up from 24) during the same period.

In the Port Shepstone policing area, sexual crimes climbed dramatically from 190 in 2011/2012 to 218 during 2012/2013 year, the ninth highest in the province. Port Shepstone also saw an increase in attempted murder cases, from 62 to 85, making it the sixth highest in the province.

In the Margate policing area, burglaries at residential premises remained the highest in the area, with 1060 cases reported.

A similar trend was seen in Hibberdene, with cases increasing from 470 to 493. Port Shepstone increased by one from 692 to 693, Southport saw an increase from 193 to 205 while in Port Edward saw a drop from 256 to 227.

Drug-related crime has escalated in Port Shepstone, rising from 417 to 906. Margate has also seen an increase from 481 to 557, the highest it’s been in 10 years. All other nine stations saw an increase in drug-related crimes.

Theft of motor vehicles and motorcycles was high in Margate, up from 33 to 55, while in Port Shepstone figures rose from 50 to 64 and in Hibberdene from 20 to 37. Theft out of or from a motor vehicle in Hibberdene increased dramatically from 43 to 114, while Margate also recorded an increase, from 129 to 140.