Pretoria - Gauteng has recorded an increase in violent crimes between January and March 2023.
This was revealed by provincial police commissioner Elias Mawela when he delivered the fourth quarter crime statistics on Wednesday.
According to Mawela, overall crime in Gauteng has increased by 2 129 counts compared with the same time last year.
Murder, attempted sexual assaults and cash-in-transit robberies are among the crimes which saw a big increase.
The highest numbers were seen in assault GBH, common assault, sexual offences and common robbery.
“Gauteng has contributed 27.2% to the overall national crime statistics for Q4 of 2022/2023. It is worth noting that we have observed over the five-year period that this contribution is slightly reducing as in 2019 our contribution was 28.2% which reflects a decrease by 1%,” Mawela said.
He added that contact crime remains the biggest contributor in the statistics.
“Although we have seen a slight reduction in robberies with aggravating circumstances, more people are being robbed through online shopping and e-hailing services.”
Meanwhile burglary at residential areas has seen a significant decrease, including theft of vehicles and theft from vehicles.
“Only burglary from business premises and stock theft have increased.”
On the Soshanguve tavern shooting, Mawela said there was a team assigned to track down the suspect who shot revellers indiscriminately on Sunday.
“The good thing is that the suspect made a mistake when he escaped because he’s left for us crucial evidence which will assist us in tracking him down,” he said.
Mawela has also called on social media users to stop circulating a graphic video of the shooting.
“It’s disheartening to see people who were enjoying themselves being targeted and attacked in this manner.”
#sapsGP Provincial #CrimeStats for Gauteng Province: 4th Quarter Crime Statistics for the 2022/23 financial year. ME pic.twitter.com/Z1O2COxRkg
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) June 14, 2023
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