Knysna murder rate up by 52%
Knysna's murder rate has increased by 52% in the period April 2019 to March 2020 compared to the same period the previous year, according to the latest crime statistics released by Police Minister Bheki Cele last Friday.
In the Knysna policing area, murders were up from 19 in 2018/2019 to 26 in 2019/2020. Total sexual offences increased by 23 to 144, up from 121. Attempted murder cases are the same at 24, assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm dropped by 87 from 553 to 466, and robbery with aggravating circumstances increased by 16 from 181 to 197. Common assault decreased by 55 from 609 to 554 while common robbery increased by 20 from 110 to 130. Under property-related crimes, burglaries at nonresidential premises went down from 19 to 14 while burglaries at residential premises decreased by 18 from 39 to 21.
There were three cases of carjacking in Knysna during the 2019/20 period compared to zero the previous year, zero truck hijackings, and stock theft showed a decrease from 4 incidents to 1. Theft from motor vehicles was up to 418 cases from 386. Illegal possession of firearms and ammunition went down from 9 to 3 cases, and drug-related crimes increased from 703 to 753. Commercial crime decreased by 8 to 164. Driving under the influence increased from 231 to 335.
Plettenberg Bay
In Plettenberg Bay, murder remained at 11, sexual offences decreased from 61 to 53 and attempted murder increased from 4 to 7. Assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm went up from 231 to 244, common assault decreased from 209 to 200 and common robbery went down from 41 to 36. The number of robberies at nonresidential premises increased from 9 to 10, but decreased at residential premises from 17 to 12.
Illegal possession of firearms and ammunition declined by 4 from 6 and drug-related crimes went down from 251 to 183. Carjacking remained at zero. Burglary at residential premises increased from 317 to 390.
Knysna Community Police Forum chair Cheryl Britz said Knysna CPF and affiliated neighbourhood watch structures continue to have a good working relationship with Knysna police and all law enforcement agencies. "Although Covid-19 had an impact on our weekly partnership meetings, the role players have adapted by using new and existing platforms to alert, engage and to stay informed," she said. "Crime prevention needs community involvement and the CPF is therefore most appreciative of the strong inclusive partnership afforded by the police and all role players."
When asked for comment, Southern Cape police spokesperson Captain Malcom Pojie said the respective police stations will do proper analyses of the statistics as released by Cele. "Only thereafter, we might be in a position to respond to specific queries," he said.
Compared to last year’s national crime statistics, murders and most contact crimes have shown a decrease in the George area (George, Conville, Thembalethu and Pacaltsdorp) this year. However, petty theft and constant burglaries at businesses in the area have caused many business owners endless headaches.
The SA crime statistics for the 2019/2020 financial year were released by Police Minister Bheki Cele last week. This was done ahead of the usual date in September as the police intend publishing the stats on a quarterly basis in future.
Although the murder rate across the country remained stable at 36 per 100 000 people, and there was a significant drop in a number of other categories of violent crime, the picture is far from rosy. The most murders were recorded in KwaZulu-Natal, which recorded a 10% yearon-year increase, followed by Gauteng and Western Cape.
Contact crimes
In George, murders were three less than in the 2018/2019 financial year. In Pacaltsdorp the murder rate showed a drop of 53,3% with seven murders compared to last year’s 15. Thembalethu showed a 20,5% decrease with 35 cases compared to last year’s 45 and Conville recorded two cases less than last year’s 19. Sexual offences in the area showed an overall decrease, except for George precinct that had a minimal increase of two reported cases.
In Conville, 28 fewer rape cases were reported than last year’s 84 - a decrease of 33,3%. Thembalethu recorded 17 fewer (14,2%) rapes than last year’s 120 and Pacaltsdorp showed a decrease of 27,7% (34 compared to last year’s 47). The contact crimes category (crimes against a person) showed a decrease in Pacaltsdorp with 22 less than last year’s 628, Thembalethu with 45 less cases than last year’s 1 199 and Conville with 1 193 cases as opposed to last year’s
1 218. George, however, recorded 54 more cases (979) of contact crimes (murder, sexual offences, attempted murder, assault, robbery etc.) than last year’s 925.
Property-related crimes
Business break-ins have increased and all four police stations in the area show an increase in burglary at non-residential premises. In Pacaltsdorp five more cases (54) were reported. In George there were 10 more cases, in Conville there were 13 more than last year’s 127 and Thembalethu showed an increase of 19,4% - 14 more cases than last year’s 72.
George showed a significant increase of theft from a motor vehicle with 79 more cases than last year’s 402. Thembalethu had 104 cases compared to 61, while the two other stations reported a combined decrease of 47 cases. Drug-related crimes showed an overall decrease in the area, but driving under the influence is up by 7,6% in George. However, in Thembalethu this figure decreased by 56,6% with 119 reported cases this year compared to 274 last year. Conville reported 29 fewer drunk drivers than last year and Pacaltsdorp reported 192 compared to last year’s 230.
Crime statistics also show a significant increase in sexual offences