By Elijah Mhlanga
Spokesperson for Gauteng Provincial
The Gauteng Provincial Government welcomes the release of Provincial Crime Statistics for the fourth quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year by the South African Police Service (SAPS).
The statistics reflect a continued downward trend in overall crime across the province.
A 5.2% reduction in the 17 community reported serious crimes, including
declines in contact crimes such as murder and attempted murder, signals encouraging progress in the fight against crime.
The provincial government also notes decreases in key categories, including propertyrelated crime, down by 9.7%, carjacking, down by 17.1%, and rape cases
down by 9.9%.
These improvements demonstrate that integrated law enforcement operations, stronger partnerships and active community collaborationsare delivering results.
Initiatives such as Operation Shanela 2 and
broader Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) interventions continue to disrupt criminal activity, improve visibility and strengthen response capacity across Gauteng.
The arrest of over 36,000 suspects,together with the recovery of illegal firearms, drugs and stolen vehicles, as well as the closure of illegal liquor outlets, underscores the Gauteng government’s firm and sustained approach to crime prevention.
However, the provincial government remains concerned about areas where crime persists or is increasing.
These include sexual assault, kidnapping, commercial crime and arson, and the continued threat to police officers, both on and off duty.
“The progress is encouraging, but we will continue to intensify our efforts,
particularly on crimes affecting women, children, and vulnerable groups.
We will intensify law enforcement operations, strengthen partnerships
and deploy every resource necessary to ensure that the people of Gauteng feel safe in their homes, on the streets and in places of work, said Premier Panyaza Lesufi.”
Gauteng continues to strengthen interventions to combat Gender-Based
Violence and Femicide (GBVF).
This includes expanding victim support
services and intensifying prevention and awareness programmes in partnership with SAPS and civil society.
We remain committed to strengthening collaboration between government and the private sector, anchored in the Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy (ICVPS).
This approach focuses on improved coordination, smarter policing, and tackling the root causes of crime.
This integrated approach includes strengthening cooperation between
SAPS, municipal and metropolitan police departments, and community safety structures.
It also focuses on leveraging technology, supporting community policing forums, and addressing the socio-economic drivers
of crime through coordinated programmes.
As the Province advances its crime-fighting agenda, it calls on all residents to remain vigilant, report crime, and actively participate in building safer communities.
Together, we will ensure that crime continues to decline and that Gauteng becomes a safer place to live, work and invest.
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