What does this national trends page show?

Change in total reported crimes vs Apr 2024–Mar 2025, aggregated across all 1173 South African Police Service precincts. Counts are raw — not adjusted for population. Each province's trends page provides the same view scoped to that province's precincts.

South African Crime Trends

Name: South African Crime Trends — National Overview
Creator: South African Police Service (SAPS)
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: South African Police Service (SAPS)Last updated 2026-05-29

Across South Africa's 1173 police precincts in 9 provinces, 558 reported less crime than the previous year, 195 were stable, and 422 reported more crime. Based on SAPS quarterly statistics for Apr 2025–Mar 2026 vs Apr 2024–Mar 2025.

1173

Precincts tracked

558

Improved

422

Worsened

195

Stable

Province comparison

Western Cape

48 improved74 worsened

152 precincts

Violent crime

113,601

Property crime

48,779

Other crime

238,844

Avg trend

+3.1%

Gauteng

74 improved35 worsened

146 precincts

Violent crime

162,581

Property crime

71,644

Other crime

251,362

Avg trend

-2.6%

KwaZulu-Natal

81 improved68 worsened

184 precincts

Violent crime

111,883

Property crime

50,033

Other crime

138,734

Avg trend

+0.1%

Eastern Cape

84 improved91 worsened

204 precincts

Violent crime

67,014

Property crime

35,794

Other crime

78,272

Avg trend

+1.3%

Limpopo

68 improved26 worsened

106 precincts

Violent crime

36,701

Property crime

20,742

Other crime

56,634

Avg trend

-0.3%

Mpumalanga

65 improved16 worsened

90 precincts

Violent crime

33,919

Property crime

18,811

Other crime

39,525

Avg trend

-5.5%

North West

36 improved38 worsened

86 precincts

Violent crime

42,882

Property crime

21,721

Other crime

51,720

Avg trend

+2.4%

Free State

57 improved36 worsened

113 precincts

Violent crime

39,653

Property crime

19,925

Other crime

48,838

Avg trend

-4%

Northern Cape

45 improved38 worsened

92 precincts

Violent crime

19,172

Property crime

9,827

Other crime

20,298

Avg trend

+2.1%

Top 5 most improved nationally

Reitz

Free State · 680 crimes

-24.9% 2

Sebayeng

Limpopo · 836 crimes

-24.3% 3

Balfour (Transvaal)

Mpumalanga · 577 crimes

-24.1% 4

Leslie

Mpumalanga · 576 crimes

-24.1% 5

Umbilo

KwaZulu-Natal · 3,146 crimes

-23.2%

Top 5 biggest concerns nationally

Franschhoek

Western Cape · 1,358 crimes

+59.8% 2

Lambertsbaai

Western Cape · 643 crimes

+38% 3

Lehurutshe

North West · 1,415 crimes

+32.1% 4

Dysselsdorp

Western Cape · 982 crimes

+31.3% 5

Ezinqoleni

KwaZulu-Natal · 960 crimes

+30.4%

Look up a crime type across South Africa

See where each crime category is reported most, ranked by province, with the multi-year national trend.

Murder in South Africa Attempted Murder in South Africa Rape in South Africa Serious Assault (GBH) in South Africa Common Assault in South Africa Aggravated Robbery in South Africa Residential Burglary in South Africa Business Burglary in South Africa Vehicle Theft in South Africa Theft from Vehicles in South Africa Drug-Related Crime in South Africa Driving Under the Influence in South Africa Commercial Crime in South Africa Other Theft in South Africa

Explore province trends

Drill into each province for full precinct-by-precinct tables, district filtering, and 5-year baseline comparisons.

Western Cape Trends

152 precincts · 6 districts

Gauteng Trends

146 precincts · 5 districts

KwaZulu-Natal Trends

184 precincts · 11 districts

Eastern Cape Trends

204 precincts · 8 districts

Limpopo Trends

106 precincts · 5 districts

Mpumalanga Trends

90 precincts · 3 districts

North West Trends

86 precincts · 4 districts

Free State Trends

113 precincts · 5 districts

Northern Cape Trends

92 precincts · 5 districts

About this data

This page presents an overview of crime trends across 1173 South African police precincts in Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Free State, and Northern Cape. Data is sourced directly from quarterly SAPS crime statistics releases, covering over a decade of reported crime data.

Comparisons use the same number of quarters to ensure accuracy. Precincts with fewer than 500 reported crimes are excluded from the "top movers" lists to avoid misleading percentage swings from precincts with low crime counts.