Crime Stats: Massive drop in murders proves that WC safety plan is working

30 May 2023

Today saw the release of the crime statistics for the first three months of 2023. While the national numbers continue to paint a bleak picture, the Western Cape has experienced a 14.1% year-on-year decrease in murder, and a 27.2% decrease in murder since the release of the last crime statistics.

What this proves is that the Western Cape’s safety plan is working. Introduced in 2019, the safety plan aims to reduce the Western Cape’s murder rate by 50% by 2029. These most recent statistics prove that our province is making excellent progress toward this goal.

Cutting the murder rate is not the only area in which the Western Cape has made progress. The province has also seen a 9.9% year-on-year reduction in rape, with only one Western Cape precinct ranking in the national top 10 for reported instances of rape. There has also been an 11.64% drop off in contact crime between October-December 2022 and January-March 2023.

It is vital to note that this progress appears to be strongly correlated with initiatives of the Western Cape Department of Community Safety and Police Oversight. Rates of murder have dropped in several of police precincts in which the Western Cape’s Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers are deployed: Mfuleni, long-considered the murder capital of South Africa, has dropped from the first to the seventh rank in terms of number of reported murders, helped in large part by its complement of 94 LEAP officers. Nyanga, also a LEAP-equipped precinct, has dropped from the country’s 5th most violent precinct by murder rate, to the 22nd.

While there is still progress to be made, these figures demonstrate clearly that the Western Cape’s model of policing is paying vital and lifesaving dividends. As has been the case countless times before, the DA-led Western Cape Government is on track to deliver its commitment of a halved murder rate by the end of the decade to the residents of the Western Cape.

DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Community Safety Gillion Bosman says: “These statistics show more than ever that the Western Cape Government’s model of policing is working. While even a single murder or instance of crime is unacceptable, these figures show that the Western Cape is moving in the right direction, and that we are on track to cut the murder rate in half by 2029. This shows what can be achieved with innovative governance and a citizen-focussed approach to service delivery, and I congratulate all those involved in making this vital progress.”

Issued by Gillion Bosman, DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Community Safety, 30 May 2023