CRIME STATS | Kidnappings increase in Gauteng, murder rate drops

Kidnappings increased by 15.8% between January and March, compared with the same period last year, according to the latest Gauteng crime statistics released by provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Tommy Mthombeni on Thursday.

Police arrested 88 suspects linked to 62 cases of kidnapping and rescued 77 victims of kidnapping in the first three months of this year.

Mthombeni said Gauteng has made progress in the fight against crime by recording a 10.8% decrease in the murder rate. 

The leading factors for murders in the province are arguments and road rage, which are mainly committed in a public place, and then at the residence of the victim or perpetrator. Commonly used weapons for murder continue to be firearms.

“Gauteng has a challenge of multiple murders. These multiple murders have contributed 75 dockets with 191 victims to the province’s murder rate. For the highest number of people killed, we had two incidents where seven victims were murdered on the same crime scene,” Mthombeni said.

Soshanguve and Kagiso are hotspots for multiple murders.

Mthombeni also noted that 11 police officers were murdered in the quarter, with one member being killed on-duty and 10 off-duty.  

“We are strengthening our resolve to stabilise this threat by going out to the public through the soft approach to policing by engaging the communities we serve through izimbizo, awareness campaigns and community outreach programmes we conduct with our partners. We have for the three months under review conducted 3,135 community engagements in the province.”

Mthombeni highlighted that sexual offences dropped by 2% and Gauteng police arrested 1,112 sexual offenders, presented 1,356 cases in court and secured convictions for 102 offenders, resulting in 28 life terms and an additional 900 years' imprisonment.

The drop in sexual offences came amid 127 awareness campaigns reaching 12,300 people — 4,250 adults and 8,050 children. He said these campaigns focus on strengthening partnerships with stakeholders and promoting the importance of reporting sexual offences and gender-based violence.

“We will win back the trust and confidence of our communities. We are continuing to work with the community to ensure criminals do not have a place to hide,” Mthombeni said.

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