Here’s which crimes increased and decreased in Gauteng between April and June
The number of murders and rapes in Gauteng decreased compared with the same three-month period last year.
Between April and June of the 2026-27 financial year, crime levels in Gauteng, South Africa, saw a mix of increases and decreases in various categories. The South African Police Service (SAPS) reported a total of 1,276 murders and 1,666 rapes, indicating a decrease in murder rates compared to the same period last year. However, associated crimes such as attempted murder, common assault, and grievous assaults saw an increase, collectively accounting for 20,347 cases.
Notably, the dense layouts of certain areas, particularly in townships, informal settlements, and hostels, have posed significant challenges for policing efforts, leading to delays in response times to emergencies. Johannesburg accounted for a significant number of these cases, contributing to 19 out of the 40 top crime stations in Gauteng.
While sexual offences decreased by 9.1%, crimes like common robbery and aggravated robbery saw reductions of 4% and 10.6%, respectively. Conversely, carjacking decreased by 14.6%, residential robberies dropped by 15.9%, and non-residential robberies reduced by 6.9%. Nonetheless, these four crime categories still accounted for a total of 4,679 cases reported during the period, with carjackings occurring at a rate of 24 per day.
Operation Shanela II, an ongoing police operation, resulted in the arrest of 38,564 suspects, comprising 14,256 illegal immigrants, 148 murder suspects, 279 robbery suspects, and 6,720 drug-related arrests. Authorities also recovered significant amounts of stolen property, including 376kg of municipal cables, 434kg of various drugs, 589 explosive devices, and 144 hijacked or stolen vehicles.
In addressing gang-related crime, police efforts focused on high-priority areas such as Sophiatown, Eldorado Park, Langlaagte, Booysens, and Moffat View in Johannesburg. Special attention was given to the ongoing turf war between the Varador Cortet gang and the Fast Guns gang, which primarily involves drug sales at street corners.
To combat this issue, police conducted 621 community awareness campaigns, 122 school safety campaigns, and 347 school searches, leading to 96 gang-related arrests, with the majority occurring in the Sophiatown precinct, Eldorado Park, and Reiger Park.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
