Violent crime on rise in North West

North West has recorded an increase of 0.5% in community-reported serious crime during the fourth quarter of the 2025/26 financial year.

This is according to the crime statistics released by provincial police commissioner Maj-Gen Ryno Naidoo and the MEC for community safety and transport management, Wessels Morweng, on Tuesday.

The latest figures were gathered from 86 police stations and 23 mobile stations across four districts.

While some areas improved, the data shows a rise in violent crime in the province.

Statistics revealed an increase across various violent crime categories, especially murder.

Murder cases reached a total of 271 incidents, a rise of 18.3% compared with the previous reporting period.

Attempted murder cases also saw a steep escalation, increasing by 17.4%. Assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm experienced an increase of 3%.

There were crime categories that saw a decrease in the quarter. There was a drop in overall crime across the province’s busiest police stations.

Rustenburg remains the highest crime-contributing station, but saw community-reported serious crimes drop by 8.4%, falling from 1,564 cases last quarter to 1,433 cases this quarter.

Klerksdorp fell by 12.9% in crime, with 129 fewer cases, while Ikageng dropped by 10.3%. Crime in Brits fell 6.4% overall.

However, small regions in the province saw a rise in crime, including Lehurutshe police station, where crime increased by 61% from 259 cases to 417 this quarter.

The station recorded a 24.1% increase in serious crime while Mmabatho saw 149 more cases, a rise of 17.4%.

For contact crimes including murder, attempted murder and assault, Brits has been named as the most dangerous area, with 517 cases, a 10.7% increase.

Violent crimes dropped in Rustenburg by 16.9% and in Klerksdorp by 15.9%.

The statistics revealed that everyday social conflict was the biggest driver of bloodshed in the province.

Out of 271 murders, 887 attempted murders and 3,675 grievous bodily harm assaults recorded, simple arguments, misunderstandings and road rage were the direct causes of 75 murders and 1,444 vicious assaults.

Figures indicated that knives and firearms remained the most used weapons to commit murder.

The report highlights that home is often the most dangerous place for victims of gender-based violence and sexual offences. Out of 720 rapes recorded during the three months, 57.5% took place inside the private home of either the victim or the perpetrator.

Public spaces like streets and open fields accounted for the second-highest number of rapes at 136 cases.

Nine rapes were recorded on educational properties, including four at schools and two at tertiary institutions.

Domestic violence also continues to plague the province, with 527 cases of serious assault and 791 cases of common assault tied to domestic abuse during the quarter.

In property-related crimes including break-ins and theft, Rustenburg still had the most cases, even though it achieved a 7.2% reduction.

Brits also made progress in protecting property, lowering its numbers by 27.1%.

Vryburg experienced a devastating 70.1% surge in property crimes, with cases rising from 77 last year to 131 this quarter.

Morweng said that crimes discovered through proactive policing increased by 12.3%.

Morweng said the main drivers of violent crime continued to be alcohol abuse, domestic violence and substance abuse. Other major factors included illegal mining, vigilantism and the rise of illegal firearms.

“Of particular concern are the 1,936 domestic violence-related incidents recorded for the quarter. This highlights an urgent need to strengthen prevention, protection and support mechanisms for the victims,” said Morweng.

Morweng said his department would take various steps to restore public trust in policing.

“We will continue to strengthen our working relationship with SAPS and intensify oversight visits and monitoring programmes at police stations, particularly in high-crime areas.”

He said such collaborations had in the period under review led to a 19% decrease in road fatalities.

“We will continue to intensify law enforcement presence on all our high-volume tourism and freight routes, including the N4, N12, N14 and N18 highways.”

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