A total of 1 625 people were murdered in Gauteng between July and September this year, up by 2,9% compared to the same period last year.
This is according to Gauteng provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela who released the second quarter Gauteng crime statistics at a media briefing at The Parktonian Hotel in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
A total of 1 579 people were killed in Gauteng between July and September last year.
On crimes against women and children, Mawela said the attempted murder and assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm (GBH) cases against women increased during the period under review compared to the same period last year. While the number of murder cases against women declined during the period.
He said 396 cases of attempted murder against women were recorded between July and September, up by 28,6% from the 308 recorded during the same period last year.
There were 3 125 cases of assault GBH committed against women between July and September, up by 1,3% from the 3 086 recorded last year.
The number of murder cases recorded against women stood at 172 down by 11,3% from the 194 recorded during the same period last year.
Mawela said 50 cases of attempted murder against children were recorded between July and September, up by 31,6% from the 38 recorded during the same period last year.
There were 278 cases of assault GBH committed against children between July and September, down by 23,2% from the 362 recorded last year.
Murder against children declines
The number of murder cases recorded against children stood at 34, down by 12,8% from the 39 recorded during the same period last year.
Mawela said contact crimes increased by 0.1% (38 counts) compared to the same period last year. He said 46251 people were victims of contact crimes, up from the 46 213 victims last year.
Contact crimes includes murder, sexual offences, attempted murder, assault GBH, common assault, common robbery, and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
“The increase in contact crime is mainly attributed to robbery with aggravating circumstances and attempted murder. We have lost robbery with aggravating circumstances by 2.0%, which is 277 more counts as compared to the same period in 2022. Meanwhile, attempted murder increased by 140 counts which translate to 8.9%,” said Mawela.
Attempted murder recorded 1 715 cases between July and September, up by 8,9% from the 1 575 recorded during the same period last year. Common assault recorded 12 616 cases, up by 0,8% from the 12 521 recorded during the same period last year.
Robbery with aggravating circumstances recorded 14,209 cases, up by 2,0% from the 13 932 recorded during the same period last year. The number of rape cases declined by 7,4% from 2,263 recorded last year to the 2,096 recorded this year. This is a decrease by 167 cases.
Sexual assault cases also declined, sitting at 408 between July and September, down by 20,5% from the 513 cases recorded during the same period last year.
Multiple killings on the rise
Meanwhile, Mawela said police are concerned about the rise in multiple murders in the province. He said the abuse of alcohol remains the root cause of multiple murders.
“We are also concerned that the phenomenon of multiple murders in the province is continuing and the abuse of liquor remain a root cause for these murders,” said Mawela.
For the quarter under review there were 82 dockets of multiple murders registered with 191 victims.
