Adelaide Crime Statistics
How much crime was reported in Adelaide?
The Adelaide SAPS precinct recorded 490 crimes in Apr 2025–Mar 2026, up 30.7% compared with Apr 2024–Mar 2025.
A raw count, not adjusted for population: larger police areas serve more people and record more crime.
Latest quarter (Apr–Jun 2026): 125 crimes, up 16.8% compared with Apr–Jun 2025 (107).
Moderate volume for Eastern Cape: the middle fifth of its 200 precincts by reported crime, Apr–Jun 2026.
Nationally Low: the second-lowest fifth of the 1,165 precincts that reported crime, Apr–Jun 2026.
Largest categories
Whole-precinct figures, reported crime only, raw counts. Source: SAPS quarterly crime statistics (saps.gov.za), Apr 2025–Mar 2026.
What this data can't tell you
How we handle these →Where within the precinct. SAPS reports one figure for the whole area.
Unreported crime. Only crime reported to police is counted, so real incidence is higher.
Crime per resident. Raw counts, no population adjustment — the trend is the steadier signal.
Reported crimes
490
Apr 2025–Mar 2026 · Full year
Compared with 2018/19
↑ 11.4%
more than in 2018/19, before the pandemic
Updated · SAPS Q1 2026-27 release
Crime breakdown
Top reported offences in 2025-2026, with change vs Apr 2024–Mar 2025
| Crime category | Reported count | Change vs Apr 2024–Mar 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Serious assault | 90 | +17 |
| Residential burglary | 63 | +16 |
| Common assault | 52 | +28 |
| All theft not mentioned elsewhere | 47 | +6 |
| Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs | 42 | +27 |
| Stock-theft | 38 | +9 |
| Commercial crime | 28 | -7 |
| Malicious damage | 21 | -7 |
Crime over time
Reported crimes per SAPS financial year, by category
Crime trend by year
Dashed: Apr–Jun 2026 only (1 of 4 quarters published) — a partial year, not comparable with the full years before it.
Hollow points with dashed lines indicate years with fewer than 4 quarters of data — those totals may be lower because SAPS has not released every quarter.
Over the past decade, crime here has fallen, although it rose in the most recent year.
The numbers behind that — recent years vs earlier years, averaged to see past a one-year spike
Over ~5 years
↓ 11.6%
avg 23/24–25/26 vs avg 18/19–20/21
Over ~10 years
↓ 16.4%
avg 23/24–25/26 vs avg 13/14–15/16
Year-by-year totals
| Year | Reported crimes |
|---|---|
| 2026/27 (Apr–Jun only) | 125 |
| 2025/26 | 490 |
| 2024/25 | 375 |
| 2023/24 | 299 |
| 2022/23 | 252 |
| 2021/22 | 428 |
| 2020/21 | 396 |
| 2019/20 | 480 |
| 2018/19 | 440 |
| 2017/18 | 397 |
| 2016/17 | 452 |
| 2015/16 | 431 |
| 2014/15 | 520 |
| 2013/14 | 441 |
View full crime breakdown table
| Category | 2025-2026 | 2024-2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serious assault | 90 | 73 | +17 |
| Residential burglary | 63 | 47 | +16 |
| Common assault | 52 | 24 | +28 |
| All theft not mentioned elsewhere | 47 | 41 | +6 |
| Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs | 42 | 15 | +27 |
| Stock-theft | 38 | 29 | +9 |
| Commercial crime | 28 | 35 | -7 |
| Malicious damage | 21 | 28 | -7 |
| Drug-related crime | 13 | 8 | +5 |
| Aggravated robbery | 13 | 4 | +9 |
| Carjacking | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| Truck hijacking | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery at residential premises | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| Robbery at non-residential premises | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery of cash in transit | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bank robbery | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Components of aggravated robbery above, already counted in that total. Not additional crimes. SAPS reports these both individually and within the aggravated-robbery figure. | |||
| Business burglary | 12 | 9 | +3 |
| Crimen injuria | 12 | 7 | +5 |
| Rape | 10 | 13 | -3 |
| Attempted murder | 8 | 1 | +7 |
| Common robbery | 7 | 5 | +2 |
| Sexual assault | 7 | 8 | -1 |
| Murder | 5 | 3 | +2 |
| Theft from vehicle | 5 | 9 | -4 |
| Shoplifting | 4 | 7 | -3 |
| Culpable homicide | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Arson | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Illegal possession of firearms and ammunition | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Vehicle theft | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| Attempted sexual offences | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Contact sexual offences | 1 | 3 | -2 |
| Kidnapping | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Public violence | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Abduction | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Neglect and ill-treatment of children | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sexual offences detected as a result of police action | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Neighbouring police precincts
Precincts sharing a boundary with Adelaide, listed alphabetically. Counts are for Apr–Jun 2026, changes vs Apr–Jun 2025.
Take Action
Report crime or service issues in your area
Adelaide SAPS
Amathole District Municipality
Contact details last verified: 2026-09-27. Source: SAPS · municipalities.co.za
See Adelaide on the national crime map
View this precinct's boundary in context, with a year-by-year timeline back to 2013/14 and every other Eastern Cape precinct around it.
Open Adelaide on the crime map →Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about crime in Adelaide
Check another area
Data Sources & Notes
- Crime data: SAPS quarterly crime statistics
- SAPS data reflects reported crime only. Crime reporting rates vary by area. How much crime goes unreported? →
- This data is for informational purposes only and should not be used as the sole basis for safety or property decisions. Full disclaimer
- Full methodology →