Murder stats down but guns and gangs a major concern in Western Cape

Western Cape crime statistics for the third quarter (Q3) of 2024/2025 saw a significant decrease in murder but gang violence remains a major concern.  

The provincial breakdown was presented by Western Cape SAPS commissioner Lt-Gen Thembisile Patekile and police oversight and community safety MEC Anroux Marais on Monday in Cape Town.

The murder rate decreased by 7.9% during the latest reporting period, with 1,198 incidents compared with the same period last year (1,095 cases).  

Areas in Nyanga, Mfuleni, Gugulethu and Khayelitsha saw a decrease in Q3 for murder, while others such as Kleinvlei, Delft and Elsies River recorded an increase.  

Cape Town safety and security MMC JP Smith said the numbers were cold comfort for the loved ones of those who had been murdered, often in incidents involving illegal firearms.

“Serious reform is needed to stop this constant surge of firearm-related violence. The gangs seem to have access to an endless supply of illegal firearms and ammunition. It cannot be that this number of firearms and ammunition are making it onto the streets without a trace,” said Smith. 

“We have seen yearly increases in illegal firearm confiscations by city law enforcement and we are tracking more than 1,600 different cases, but the conviction rate is not keeping pace with confiscations and arrests.”  

The city could help police initiate targeted investigations into the illegal firearms trade, he said.

“The delays in ballistic testing also need to be urgently resolved, with cases being thrown out of court due to delays.”

Other notable crime decreases were:

• attempted murder (down by 12.5%);
• sexual offences (down by 4.6%);
• common robbery (down by 7.1%); and
• carjacking (down by 14%). 

Smith commended neighbourhood watches for their role in helping to fight crime.

“The city continues to implement hotspot-policing initiatives through the deployment of officers in hotspots defined through analysis of crime data obtained from SAPS as part of the hotspot enforcement pilot project.  

“This intelligence-driven approach ensures staff spend more time in carefully defined crime hotspots based on data analysis, ensuring our limited resources have maximum impact.”

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