KZN still the murder capital of South Africa

30 September 2015 - 02:29 By Nivashni Nair AND Taschica Pillay

KwaZulu-Natal is still the most dangerous place in South Africa in which to live. National crime statistics released yesterday show that the province had the highest murder rate in the country - 3810 killings compared with last year's 3616.The number of known attempted murders is also on the rise, with 83 more cases reported than last year's 3835.The murder rate has gone up nationally for the third consecutive year.The homicide rate has risen to 17805 a year, or 49 murders every day, up from 47 a day last year."This number of deaths is what one would expect to be reported in a country at war," said DA MP and spokesman on policing Dianne Kohler Barnard.The police case load for assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm rose from last year's 28982 to 29201.The incidence of common robbery, common assault and robbery with aggravating circumstances fell.The statistics showed that the number of sexual offence cases reported in the province decreased by 810 from last year's 9889 to 9079.Kohler Barnard said the 2750 robberies at non-residential premises meant there had been more attacks on KwaZulu-Natal businesses."This is attacking the very heart of our job-creation capacity. But that being said, there was not a single bank robbery."According to the statistics, residential robberies decreased from 4099 to 3958, and burglaries of homes dropped from 43969 to 43274.Overall in KwaZulu-Natal, which ranks second in the country for car hijacking, there has been a 3.2% decrease in reported cases.According to the crime stats released yesterday, a survey of a random selection of 10 police stations in the province indicated that there were no car hijackings between April 2013 and March last year.But Kohler Barnard said the compilation of the stats has been "botched again"."It's an impossibility. These figures need to be audited. Clearly these are outrageously wrong."It's a ridiculous assumption to say there were no car-jackings."There is no such thing as 10 [policing] areas with no hijackings. It infuriates me. It's outrageous and I don't believe it."The stats have been bungled again for the third time in a row."Durban North reportedly has had no thefts of motor vehicles or motorcycles from April last year to March this year, compared with 297 thefts reported the previous year.Of the 25 categories of crime in Durban North, 15 were said to have decreased in incidence, including sexual offences, common assault, burglary, theft of motor vehicles and robbery at residential premises, and there were purportedly only five cases of car-jacking reported in Durban North from April 2014 to March this year.Durban North Community Police Forum chairman Haden Searles said he could not believe that there had been no vehicle thefts in the area."These stats were clearly not updated, or were captured incorrectly. I would hate to think that the figures were [deliberately] manipulated. I would ask for an investigation. I know a spate of Toyota Fortuners were stolen last year."I agree that, overall, certain crimes in the area have decreased because of interventions by the police and security companies," said Searles.The murder rate in Pinetown rose by 90%, in Ntuzuma by 51.6%, in Durban North by 40% and in Inanda by 9%, but Phoenix and Chatsworth reported decreases of 22% and 12.5% respectively.Drug-related crime increased in Phoenix by 13.7%, in Chatsworth by 4.6%, in Ntuzuma by 23.6%, in Margate by 13.4%, in Eshowe by 12.8% and in Umlazi by 4.4%.But Mountain Rise in Pietermaritzburg, where the police have been accused of manipulating crime stats, reported a 53.7% decrease.To check your own suburb, visit http://crimestatssa.com/index.php..

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