SERIOUS CRIME IN AND SURROUNDING AREAS

CRIME RESEARCH AND STATISTICS CRIME INTELLIGENCE

Compiled by M EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This assessment of Khayelitsha and its surrounding areas is based purely on the recorded incidence of crime and was done without any recent contact with and/or visit to any of the stations under consideration (the current situation with regard to the position of the CIO/CIAC at stations is explained in the introduction). Although this methodology possibly promoted increased objectivity in the crime assessment, it may suffer from a lack of insight regarding the crime situation at ground level in Khayelitsha, , Harare, Lingelethu West and and thus not present a full explanation. It should again be emphasized that it is an assessment of crime and not of policing in Khayelitsha. The reader should be aware of the fact that Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain were declared presidential stations in the during the late nineties of the previous centuryi. The strategy behind declaring 14 police stations in the Republic of as presidential stations was that these stations were generally identified as the largest single generators of crime in their respective provinces. The high levels of particularly violent crime in these precincts were also due to an extremely complex web of historical, social, economic and environmental issues which couid only be addressed by a massive, fully integrated effort involving both Government (not only the SAPS) and the community, if the present Khayelitsha precinct as in (2012) and part of its environment (Harare and Lingelethu West) which formerly formed part of the historical Khayelitsha precinct of 1999 are compared to the situation that existed in 1999, the question needs to be asked and answers found regarding the nature and extent of changes over the past 13 years - and whether a massive, fully — integrated government-community effort did in fact materialized in the areas. Should Khayelitsha still be a presidential station?

The report indicates that the new, smaller Khayelitsha occupies number 2, 4 and 8 positions as far as its contribution to national murder, attempted murder and aggravated robbery figures respectively is concerned. If Khayelitsha, Harare and Lingelethu West (the constituent parts of the old presidential station) are considered together, this combined entity today occupies a first position as far as national murder, attempted murder and aggravated robbery figures are concerned. The old Khayelitsha (Khayelitsha, Harare,

1 Fourteen police stations in South Africa were declared as Presidential Stations. ii

Lingelethu West) today occupies national rankings in position 1, 2 and 3 with regards to TRIO crimes, social contact crime and robberies respectively. Its provincial rankings lie in positions 1, 2 and 2 in respect of TRIO crimes, robberies and social contact crime respectively. The only provincial contenders as far as all these violent/contact crimes are concerned, are Mitchells Plain (the other Presidential Station) and Nyanga. The report further reveals that nearly half (48,2%) of all the serious crime recorded in the new, smaller Khayelitsha is contact crime. This proportion consists of 31,9% social contact crime and 16,3% robberies. The corresponding proportions for South Africa and the Western Cape are as follows:

Crimes South Africa Western Cape

Social contact crime 22,5% 16,4%

Robberies 7,4% 5,6%

The crime profile of Khayelitsha has actually not changed over the past 12 to 13 years. It still remains a dominantly social contact crime station. This type of crimes is less policeable in terms of the conventional policing methods/procedures such as focused patrols, roadblocks, cordon-and-search operations. It still exhibits a complex mixture of factors influencing its crime situation such as a high influx of people not knowing one another and a resultant lack of social cohesion; unemployment; dire poverty; a lack of proper housing, privacy / and recreational facilities/activites. The way to address the situation also still remains the same: Only an integrated Government - community response can really address the high levels of social contact crime. It seems as if nothing happened in this regard since 1999.

Social contact crime in Khayelitsha increased by 16,1% in 2011/2012 and 17,5% during the first quarter of 2012/2013. The four other stations used in the comparisons presented in the report (namely Harare, Lingelethu West, Mfuleni and Mitchells Plain) mostly recorded small decreases, except Mitchells Plain with a 7,1% increase. Analysis indicates that nearly two-thirds of the 16,1% increase in social contact crime is due to a 32,2% increase in common assault. This is most probably due to more correct registration of common as^fult 11

As is typical of most stations, Khayelitsha does not rank high on the property-related crime scale. Property-related crime mostly occurs in suburban and CBD stations precincts.

The provincial rankings are as follows: • Social Contact Crime: position 4. • Robbery: position 4. • TRIO crime: position 2. • Property-related crime: position 58.

The only station in the Western Cape that beats Khayelitsha on the TRIO crime list is Nyanga. Nyanga also beats Khayelitsha on the robbery and social contact crime list. As far as violent crime is concerned Nyanga is a much more problematic station than Khayelitsha.

It terms of specific serious categories the new, smaller Khayelitsha ranked as follows: o Number 2 position on national murder list. It was only beaten by Nyanga. (The old Khayelitasha would have beaten even Nyanga by far!)

• Number 4 position on national attempted murder list, it was beaten by Umlazi (1), Nyanga (2) and Mitchells Plain (3) on the list. (The old Khayelitsha would have beaten even those three stations.)

• Number 8 position on national robbery with aggravating circumstances list. It was beaten by Johannesburg Central (1), Mitchells Plain (2), Durban Central (3), Kwazakhele (4), Nyanga (5), Pretoria Central ((6) and Booysens (7) on the list. However, the old Khayelitsha would easily have occupied a national first position.)

• Number 2 position on business robbery list. It was only beaten by Johannesburg Central, but the old Khayelitsha would have been in an uncontested first position.) • Number 62 position on house robbery list with 62 cases recorded during 2011/2012. However, if the 98 cases of Harare and the 52 cases of Lingelethu West are added to the latter, this total would have secured a number three position on the national list for the old Khayelitsha. Only Honeydew and Diepsloot would have beaten it on this list in such a case.