The national crime statistics for the period January – March 2022 were released on Friday, and they paint a disturbing picture of the prevalence of violence in South Africa.
2022 crime statistics: Murder, rape, assault indicators in Q1
The first three months of 2022, compared to the same period in the last five years, have been the deadliest on record. Contact crimes, like murder, sexual assault, attempted murder and assault GBH, increased by 14.99% compared to the same period in 2021.
Rape peaked at an all-time high with 10 818 reported cases, a 13.6% increase year on year.
Per ratio calculations, the likelihood of being murdered in South Africa is 10:100 000, and even higher for rape at 17.9:100 000. Taking the latter into account, what this stat essentially translates to is, that for every 100 000 people, 17.6 are likely to be sexually assaulted.
A look at contact crime trends over the first quarter of 2022 suggests that January 2022 has been the deadliest month thus far with an increase of 17 537 cases reported.
Top 10 deadliest places in South Africa
Based on the total cases of murder reported between January and March 2022, these are the 10 deadliest places in South Africa.
| CITY | PROVINCE | MURDERS |
| Umlazi | KZN | 103 |
| Inanda | KZN | 75 |
| Plessislaer | KZN | 67 |
| Harare | WC | 59 |
| Kraaifontein | WC | 54 |
| Delft | WC | 54 |
| Mfuleni | WC | 52 |
| Khayelitsha | WC | 49 |
| Kagiso | GP | 43 |
| Mthatha | EC | 42 |
Observing the murder trends from the observed period, it was found that contact crimes are likely to occur in public and more shockingly, recreational spaces.
The second likeliest place to encounter murder is at homes, and between people who are, to some degree, well-acquainted.
Here are the five places where murder is likely to occur:
- Public place (street, recreational centre, park, beach)
- At home (between people who know each other)
- In transit (car, bus, tax, train)
- At places of drinking (nightclub, tavern, bottle store)
- On a farm
The five contributors to murder in South Africa
These are the five common contributors to murder in South Africa, based on the quarterly 2022 crime statistics:
- Arguments and misunderstanding, road rage or provocation
- Vigilantism
- Retaliation, revenge and/or punishment
- Robbery
- Gang-related
2022 crime statistics: Deadliest provinces per capita
In the first three months of 2022, the Eastern Cape was the deadliest province, with a murder per ratio of 15.7:100 000. Here is the list of the deadliest provinces in South Africa:
| PROVINCE | MURDER RATIO |
| Eastern Cape | 15:7 |
| Western Cape | 14.1 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 13.6 |
| Gauteng | 8.8 |
| Free State | 8.2 |
| Northern Cape | 7.2 |
| Mpumalanga | 5.8 |
| North West | 5.1 |
| Limpopo | 3.7 |