GEORGE NEWS - South Africa saw an increase in violent crime between October and December 2022, with murder, assault and robbery statistics climbing.
The quarterly crime statistics were released on Friday 17 February. These statistics reflect crimes conducted in the third quarter (Q3) of last year, from October to December, compared with the same quarter in 2021.
All four police stations in the George area (Conville, George, Pacaltsdorp and Thembalethu) showed a year-on-year (YOY) increase in contact crimes, with Thembalethu at the forefront.
Contact crimes are serious crimes that include murder, sexual offences, attempted murder, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) and robbery. Thembalethu recorded 89 more cases of contact crimes - from 256 in the 2021 Q3 to 345 in the same period last year. Forty-one sexual offences, of which 33 were rape cases, were recorded; 120 cases of assault GBH and 103 of common assault.
George Police Station reported an increase of 51 in contact crimes - from 227 cases in the previous year to 278. Of serious concern is the increase in rape cases, with 12 more reported in the last quarter of 2022 than in the same period in 2021 (10 to 22).
In total, sexual offences increased with 14 cases. These also include sexual assault and attempted sexual offences.
Another eyebrow-raiser is the increase in common assault cases, with 142 as opposed to 126 in the same time frame the previous year.
In Conville, five murders were reported, 19 sexual offences (of which 11 were rape - one less rape case than the 2021 Q3), but both assault GBH and common assault showed more than 100 cases each with GBH rising from 78 to 106, and assault from 123 to 130 cases YOY.
Pacaltsdorp showed 13 more cases of contact crimes with 210 as opposed to 197 in 2021). Five of these were murders, and 55 GBH. However, sexual offences did show a slight decrease of three cases (22 to 19). Eleven of these were rapes.
On the bright side, there was a collective decrease in property-related crimes across the area, with only the George Police Station that showed a marginal increase of one case.
Property-related crimes include business and home burglaries, theft of a motor vehicle and theft from a motor vehicle. Conville showed a total decrease of 28 cases, Pacaltsdorp 22, Thembalethu four and George had one more case than in the previous year (293 to 294). George was also the station with the most cases of property-related crimes.
Crime detected as a result of police action
These are crimes discovered by active policing, such as roadblocks and raids. Categories covered by this are the illegal possession of firearms, driving under the influence (of drugs or alcohol); and the use, possession or trade of illegal drugs. An increase in these figures should thus be seen as positive, as it is a sign of pro-active policing.
The four stations in our area have all shown increases in this regard – especially with drug- and alcohol-related crimes. In Thembalethu, 21 more cases (42 to 63) of drug-related crimes were reported and nine more of driving under the influence (2 to 11).
Pacaltsdorp saw 25 more cases of drug-related crimes and 17 cases of driving under the influence (the same as 2021 Q3). In Conville, 190 cases of drug-related crime were reported (147 in 2021 Q3) and 14 more cases of people driving under the influence (11 to 25).
George Police reported a whopping 66 more cases of drug-related crimes (124 to 190) and 64 more cases of driving under the influence (44 to 108).
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