EMPANGENI is ranked as one of the most dangerous areas in the country in several serious crime categories.

The second quarterly crime statistics released by Police Minister Bheki Cele last Friday, once again painted a grim picture of the once tranquil town, which featured among the top 30 stations in SA for crimes such as murder, attempted murder, sexual assault, burglaries and kidnapping.

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While the figures for the period 1 July to the end of September show that some crime has dropped in most parts of the country, serious crime has spiked locally.

The Empangeni police station took the number one spot in the country for kidnapping, recording 21 cases.

It ranked third in the country for house robbery with 60 cases recorded in two months.

Despite there being a 10 per cent decrease in the number of sexual assault cases, Empangeni ranked 15th in the country in this category and 28th for sexual offences (42 recorded cases).

Both Richards Bay and Empangeni SAPS were listed for burglaries at residential properties, with Richards Bay recording the eleventh highest cases in the country with 162 incidents. Empangeni ranked 21st.

Richards Bay, however, saw an increase of 61 cases compared to last year’s figures, while Empangeni showed a decrease of 20 cases.

Empangeni ranked 25th in the country for murder with 26 cases, an increase of seven compared to last year. The station ranked 22nd for attempted murder (25 cases).

The station also featured among the top 30 for contact crime and arson.

Sexual offences remained high in the area with 32 new rape cases and nine sexual assaults reported in the three months.

Richards Bay showed a significant drop in rape cases.

Cele said liquor abuse remains a major concern for law enforcement authorities, with 829 assaults, 747 rapes and 179 attempted murder cases involving alcohol abuse.

He added that the second quarter proved to be a dangerous time for women.

‘In July, August and September 8 922 rape cases were reported. A sample of 5 168 rape dockets showed that 3 578 people were raped in their homes or at the homes of the perpetrators.

‘More than a thousand people were raped in public places such as parks, beaches, parking areas or open fields.’

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