Gauteng saw 1 439 murders between January and March this year, a 10.8% decrease from the same period in 2024.
In 2024, between January and March, 1 614 people were murdered in Gauteng.
Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni, the provincial police commissioner for Gauteng, disclosed this information on Thursday while he was delivering the province’s fourth-quarter crime figures for the fiscal year 2024–2025.
Mthombeni stated that disagreements, misunderstandings, road rage, or provocation were the main causes of murders, with robbery coming in second.
11 police officers killed
He said the majority of murders in Gauteng occurred in public spaces before moving on to the victim’s or offender’s home.
Multiple murders are a problem in Gauteng, according to Mthombeni, who also noted that these have contributed to the province’s murder rate by resulting in 75 dockets with 191 victims.
“For the highest number of people killed, we had two incidents where seven victims were murdered on the same crime scene,” said Mthombeni.
The commissioner reported that Gauteng saw the deaths of 11 police officers during the reporting period.
Ten of the 11 police officers who were murdered were killed while off duty, and one was killed while on duty.
“The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations deals with police killing cases. During the period under review, investigators arrested five suspects and are actively following leads to trace additional suspects, according to Mthombeni.
Increase in sexual offences
During the review period, Gauteng recovered the most firearms and ammunition, and there were 1 035 cases of illegal firearm and ammunition possession, an 11.2% decrease.
According to him, drug-related offences rose by 10.3%, resulting in 11 365 arrests.
Driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs rose by 19%, according to Mthombeni, with 6 689 cases reported.
Mthombeni said there was a 1.3% increase in sexual offences detected as a result of police action, which equated to 443 arrests.
“We acknowledge that there is still much work to be done, and as we move forward, we will continue to foster collaboration with our stakeholders in ensuring that we improve the safety and security of our communities,” Mthombeni said.
