Common Assault in South Africa
SAPS recorded 188,945 common assault cases across South Africa in Apr 2025–Mar 2026, down 2.1% vs Apr 2024–Mar 2025.
Latest quarter (Jan–Mar 2026): 48,712 common assault cases, roughly unchanged vs Jan–Mar 2025.
Ranked by province below.
Note: Raw reported counts — not adjusted for population. Provinces with more residents will naturally report more cases.
National trend
Common Assault by province
Bars coloured by direction vs the previous year: green = improved, red = worsened, grey = within ±2%. Sorted by Apr 2025–Mar 2026 count.
| Province | Apr 2025–Mar 2026 | vs Apr 2024–Mar 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Gauteng | 47,501 | -5% |
| Western Cape | 43,991 | +0.5% |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 31,079 | +2.5% |
| Eastern Cape | 15,756 | +1% |
| Free State | 14,137 | -10% |
| North West | 12,269 | +1.1% |
| Limpopo | 10,102 | -4.2% |
| Mpumalanga | 8,736 | -4.7% |
| Northern Cape | 5,374 | -5.7% |