Serious crime might be down, but stats still worrying

The provincial crime statistics for the first quarter of the 2024/25 financial year (April 2024 to June 2024) were released last week, and it would seem that the police in Limpopo are slowly gaining ground in their fight against crime.

“It is with great honour that I echo our Minister of Police, Mr Senzo Mchunu, who, during the release of the National Crime Statistics on 30 August 2024, highlighted that our province has achieved a 3.3 [people per 100,000 population] in murder cases, making it the safest and most secure province to live in in South Africa. This significant milestone and achievement is more than just a statistic; it is a testament to the tireless dedication and unwavering commitment of our men and women in blue,” said the provincial police commissioner, Lt-Gen Thembi Hadebe, during the release of the statistics in Polokwane last Tuesday.

Murder is listed as a contact crime, and as these crimes are considered the most serious, we are looking at those first. Also listed as contact crimes against a person are sexual offences, attempted murder, assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm (GBH), common assault, common robbery, and robbery with aggravating circumstances. The two periods referred to in this article are the April 2024 to June 2024 (latest) and April 2023 to June 2023 (previous year) periods.

Murder up by one, by rape slightly down

Limpopo recorded 198 murders for the period under review, one more than the 197 cases recorded for the corresponding period last year, a slight increase of 0.5%. As stated, this translates to 3.3 people per 100,000 of the Limpopo population being affected by murder. Sexual offences decreased by 6%, from 1,031 (2023) to 969 (2024). Of this number, 825 were rape cases, down 33 cases from the 858 cases recorded in the same period last year. Although the number of cases was slightly lower, 13.7 people per 100,000 were shockingly affected by rape.

Attempted murder cases increased by 3.2%, from 247 (2023) to 255 (2024), while assault with the intent to inflict GBH saw a slight decline (0.6%) in number, from 2,832 last year to 2,815 this year. Again, and despite a decrease, this translated to 46.7 people per 100,000 in the province being affected by this crime. Common assault declined by 4%, from 2,197 cases in 2023 to 2,327 cases this April to June (38.6 people per 100,000), while there was a significant 12.2% decrease in common robbery cases, from 776 last year to 681 this year (11.3 people per 100,000). Robbery with aggravating circumstances, however, increased by 4.2%, from 1,798 in 2023 to 1,874 in 2024. Overall, the number of contact crimes in Limpopo decreased slightly by 2%.

Thohoyandou remains a violent precinct

Although it shows a 9.8% decrease in the number of contact crimes reported, from 615 (2023) to 587 (2024), the Thohoyandou Police Station (Vhembe) takes the lead for the most cases reported. Mankweng station (Capricorn) is in second place with 524 cases (a 3.8% increase), with Seshego police station (Capricorn) in third place, also with 524 cases (a 2.7% increase). Other Vhembe police stations that made the list of the Top 30 stations in Limpopo for contact crimes reported between April and June this year included Musina in 12^th place with 184 cases (a 21.9% increase), Malamulele in 14^th place with 170 cases (a 26.9% increase), Tshilwavhusiku in 17^th place with 160 cases (a 22.3% decrease), Mphephu in 18^th place with 154 cases (a 33.3% decrease), Waterval in 19^th place with 152 cases (a 24.6% increase), Vuwani in 20^th place with 142 cases (a 10.7% decrease), and Levubu in 22^nd place with 132 cases (a 20% increase).

Regarding murder cases, Capricorn (25.8%) and Sekhukhune (25.3%) districts contributed to more than half of Limpopo’s murder cases. Vhembe came in third place with 21.7%, with Mopani fourth (16.2%) and Waterberg fifth (11.1%).

As for the Top 30 police stations for reported murder cases, Thohoyandou tops the list once more with 13 murder cases during the period under review. Other Vhembe police stations on the list are Musina in 12^th place (five murders), Tshilwavhusiku in 14^th place (five murders), Levubu in 17^th place (four murders), Vuwani in 21^st place (three murders), Waterval in 22^nd place (three murders), Saselamani in 25^th place (two murders), and Siloam in 30^th place, also with two murders.

Regarding these murder cases, two police officers also lost their lives between April and June this year. In May, an on-duty police officer from Levubu was killed while tracing a suspect, while in June, an off-duty police officer from Mankweng was killed while following suspects in a vehicle.

Gender-based violence against women and children remains a problem, and although declines were recorded, the number of cases still remains unacceptable. The number of women (18 years and older) murdered increased by 59.3%, from 27 cases in April to June 2023 to 43 for the corresponding period this year. The number of attempted-murder cases against women in this age category decreased by 1.9%, from 52 (2023) to 51 (2024), while cases of assault with intent to inflict GBH in this gender and age bracket decreased by 8.3%, from 841 (2023) to 771 (2024).

As for children (girls and boys between the ages of 0 and 10 years), there was a 10% decrease in murder cases, from 10 last year to 9 this year. Attempted murder decreased by the same percentage and number of cases, but sadly, the number of cases of assault with intent to inflict GBH against children increased by 20.9%, from 110 cases last year to 133 cases this year.

As for the Top 30 police stations for sexual offences reported, Thohoyandou once again leads the pack with 58 cases reported for the period under review. As for other Vhembe police stations, Malamulele came in 11^th place (23 cases), Tshilwavhusiku in 16^th place (18 cases), Waterval in 22^nd place (15 cases), and Vuwani in 29^th place (12 cases).

A dubious rape-record for Thohoyandou

Thohoyandou also holds the record for the most rape cases reported, totalling 52 between April and June this year. Second place went to Seshego Police Station (Capricorn) with 37 cases. Other Vhembe police stations to make the Top 30 list were Malamulele in 13^th place (19 cases), Tshilwavhusiku in 19^th place (15 cases), Waterval in 23^rd place (12 cases), and Saselamani in 27^th place (11 cases). Of the total number of rape cases reported, 10 were learners who were raped on school premises, while two children from special schools were also raped.

As for trio-crimes (carjacking, robbery at residential premises, and robbery at non-residential premises), Thohoyandou retains the number one spot on the Top 30 police stations list, with 51 cases for this year’s period. Other Vhembe stations to make the list are Malamulele in fourth place with 39 cases, Musina in 11^th place (22 cases), Levubu in 20^th place (14 cases), and Mphephu in 20^th place (11 cases).

Vhembe a hotspot for carjackings

Regarding carjackings, Vhembe accounted for just over a third (36.3%) of all cases (49 in total) reported between April and June 2024. Sekhukhune came in second place (25.9%), with Capricorn third (16.3%), Mopani fourth (15.6%), and Waterberg fifth (5.9%). It is also no surprise that Vhembe holds the top three positions on the Top 30 list for the most carjackings. In first place, again, was Thohoyandou Police Station with 13 cases. In second place was Musina with 10 cases, and in third place, Malamulele with nine cases. Other Vhembe police stations to make the list were Levubu in fifth place (five cases), Makhado in 17^th place with three cases, Makuya in 21^st place (two cases), and Mphephu in 30^th place with one case.

This article only gives a brief overview of the province’s crime statistics, broken down further into districts and police stations. For the full 140-page report, click here.

Date:26 September 2024

By: Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

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