Nearly 70,000 arrests, but Cape Town crime hotspots remain among SA’s worst - TimesLIVE

Western Cape police have made nearly 70,000 arrests in three months, while more than 600 firearms were seized as authorities intensified operations against violent crime, gangs and extortion.

But despite declines in murders, carjackings and house robberies, several Western Cape police station precincts remain among the country’s worst crime hotspots, highlighting the persistent levels of violence in parts of Cape Town.

Police effected 69,726 arrests between April and June, the first quarter of the 2026/2027 financial year, for offences ranging from burglary, malicious damage to property and motor vehicle theft to rape, murder and possession of illegal firearms and ammunition.

During the same period, police confiscated 610 firearms.

The figures were revealed in the Western Cape’s first-quarter crime statistics release. It was Western Cape police commissioner Lt-Gen Sizakhele Dyantyi’s first crime statistics release since his appointment.

Dyantyi said serious violent crime detectives continued to make inroads in investigations involving extortion, gangs and kidnappings for ransom.

“On the detective front, significant arrests were made during a takedown operation for extortion in the long-distance bus sector. Bigwigs in the taxi industry were arrested in three provinces, and their case is still before court.”

He said contact crime declined by 6.3% compared with the same period in the previous financial year.

The 17 community-reported serious crime categories declined by 4.3% between April and June 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, with all six districts in the province recording decreases.

However, Dyantyi cautioned that a closer examination of the figures showed significant areas of concern remained.

“Closer analysis of the crime recorded during the first quarter of the 2026/2027 financial year shows that we still have areas of concern,” he said.

Of the country’s top 30 police stations for the 17 community-reported serious crimes, six are in the Western Cape: Cape Town Central, Mitchells Plain, Mfuleni, Delft, Kraaifontein and Stellenbosch.

Most of these stations are within the City of Cape Town district.

The picture is even more concerning in view of contact crimes. Eight Western Cape police stations are among the country’s top 30 for contact crime, with all but Worcester located in the City of Cape Town district.

Despite these persistent hotspots, the province recorded reductions in several key crime categories during the quarter.

Contact crime declined by 6.3%, while murder decreased by 6.7%. Carjackings dropped by 14.6%, and robberies at residential premises declined by 15%.

Dyantyi said the improvements were encouraging but stressed that the fight against crime was far from over.

Police remained committed to working with communities and other law-enforcement agencies to tackle crime and make the Western Cape safer.