Cape Town Central Precinct
How much crime was reported in the Cape Town Central precinct?
The Cape Town Central SAPS precinct recorded 16,722 crimes in Apr 2025–Mar 2026, about the same as 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): 4,380 crimes, up 10.3% compared with Apr–Jun 2025 (3,970).
Very High volume for Western Cape: the highest fifth of its 152 precincts by reported crime, Apr–Jun 2026.
Nationally Very High: the highest 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; all 14 suburbs share it.
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.
View 14 suburbs in this precinct
All these suburbs share the same crime statistics because SAPS reports data at precinct level.
Reported crimes
16,722
Apr 2025–Mar 2026 · Full year
Compared with 2018/19
↑ 2.8%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Drug-related crime | 5,840 | +1,624 |
| All theft not mentioned elsewhere | 3,277 | -625 |
| Theft from vehicle | 1,871 | -607 |
| Commercial crime | 1,471 | +23 |
| Common robbery | 1,428 | -31 |
| Common assault | 643 | -34 |
| Aggravated robbery | 516 | -217 |
| Carjacking | 16 | |
| Truck hijacking | 0 | |
| Robbery at residential premises | 5 | |
| Robbery at non-residential premises | 9 | |
| Robbery of cash in transit | 0 | |
| Bank robbery | 0 | |
| Components of aggravated robbery above, already counted in that total. Not additional crimes. | ||
| Shoplifting | 311 | -107 |
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.
The numbers behind that — recent years vs earlier years, averaged to see past a one-year spike
Over ~5 years
↑ 26.8%
avg 23/24–25/26 vs avg 18/19–20/21
Over ~10 years
↓ 8%
avg 23/24–25/26 vs avg 13/14–15/16
Year-by-year totals
| Year | Reported crimes |
|---|---|
| 2026/27 (Apr–Jun only) | 4,380 |
| 2025/26 | 16,722 |
| 2024/25 | 16,737 |
| 2023/24 | 15,963 |
| 2022/23 | 13,515 |
| 2021/22 | 10,404 |
| 2020/21 | 7,453 |
| 2019/20 | 15,268 |
| 2018/19 | 16,260 |
| 2017/18 | 18,535 |
| 2016/17 | 19,069 |
| 2015/16 | 17,749 |
| 2014/15 | 17,835 |
| 2013/14 | 18,162 |
View full crime breakdown table
| Category | 2025-2026 | 2024-2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drug-related crime | 5,840 | 4,216 | +1624 |
| All theft not mentioned elsewhere | 3,277 | 3,902 | -625 |
| Theft from vehicle | 1,871 | 2,478 | -607 |
| Commercial crime | 1,471 | 1,448 | +23 |
| Common robbery | 1,428 | 1,459 | -31 |
| Common assault | 643 | 677 | -34 |
| Aggravated robbery | 516 | 733 | -217 |
| Carjacking | 16 | 23 | -7 |
| Truck hijacking | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery at residential premises | 5 | 13 | -8 |
| Robbery at non-residential premises | 9 | 10 | -1 |
| 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. | |||
| Shoplifting | 311 | 418 | -107 |
| Malicious damage | 287 | 289 | -2 |
| Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs | 237 | 154 | +83 |
| Residential burglary | 206 | 330 | -124 |
| Vehicle theft | 155 | 168 | -13 |
| Serious assault | 118 | 128 | -10 |
| Business burglary | 93 | 136 | -43 |
| Crimen injuria | 90 | 55 | +35 |
| Rape | 69 | 60 | +9 |
| Sexual assault | 32 | 21 | +11 |
| Attempted murder | 18 | 8 | +10 |
| Kidnapping | 18 | 12 | +6 |
| Illegal possession of firearms and ammunition | 16 | 15 | +1 |
| Culpable homicide | 7 | 6 | +1 |
| Murder | 7 | 11 | -4 |
| Contact sexual offences | 6 | 2 | +4 |
| Arson | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Sexual offences detected as a result of police action | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| Abduction | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| Attempted sexual offences | 0 | 3 | -3 |
| Neglect and ill-treatment of children | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| Public violence | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| Stock-theft | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Neighbouring police precincts
Precincts sharing a boundary with Cape Town Central, listed alphabetically. Counts are for Apr–Jun 2026, changes vs Apr–Jun 2025.
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Cape Town Central SAPS
City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality
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Contact details last verified: 2026-09-27. Source: SAPS · municipalities.co.za
See Cape Town Central 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 Western Cape precinct around it.
Open Cape Town Central on the crime map →Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about crime in Cape Town Central
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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 →