Pretoria: There has been a drastic reduction in some crime categories, according to the crime statistics for Quarter 1 and 2 released on Friday. The stats cover the period from April to September.
According to South African Government News Agency, categories that saw reductions include murder, assault, common robbery with aggravating circumstances, contact crime, rape, and sexual assault. This also includes carjacking, robbery at residential premises, robbery at non-residential premises, and cash-in-transit heists.
Releasing the crime stats in Pretoria, Crime Registrar, Major-General Norman Sekhukhune noted that there have been increases in categories such as attempted murder, attempted sexual assault, common assault, and contact sexual offences.
The statistics reveal a reduction in murder cases from 6,545 in 2024 to 5,794 in 2025. Common assault cases showed a 0.7 percent reduction, with 42,721 cases reported in 2024 compared to 41,978 in 2025. Sexual assault cases also decreased slightly from 1,839 in 2024 to 1,827 in 2025.
Carjackings saw a significant reduction of 12.3 percent, with 5,447 cases in 2024 dropping to 4,778 in 2025. Robberies at residential premises decreased by 14.5 percent, from 5,967 in 2024 to 5,103 in 2025. Robberies at non-residential premises showed a 21.4 percent reduction, with cases falling from 3,873 in 2024 to 3,044 in 2025. Cash-in-transit heists were reduced by 16 cases, from 40 in 2024 to 24 in 2025.
Between July and September 2024, the police recorded more than 160,000 contact crimes compared to 155,000 during the same period in 2024. Carjackings decreased by 12.3 percent, commercial crimes by 2.4 percent, while residential robberies fell by 14.5 percent.