CAPE MURDER RATE IS DOWN

But it still accounts for more than 15 percent of national crime in SA

- BY LILITA GCWABE

STATS: Anroux Marais and Thembisile Patekile

THE Western Cape recorded 1 157 murders between October and December 2025, 41 fewer than the same period last year.

But provincial leaders said that the marginal decrease does little to soften the reality that the province remains at the centre of South Africa’s violent crime crisis.

Presenting the third quarter crime statistics for the 2025/2026 financial year, Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile said the province saw an overall decrease across the 17 community-reported crime categories and a reduction in contact crimes, but warned that serious violence remains deeply entrenched.