Africa-Press – South-Africa. Gang-related violence was one of the leading causes of murders and attempted murders in the Western Cape between July and September, according to the most recent quarterly crime statistics.
Although most of the murders committed during the three-month period – 176 specifically – were the result of non-domestic arguments, gang-related violence was second on the list at 175.
Gang violence was also responsible for most of the attempted murders in the province during that period, at 252.
The province recorded a total of 1 050 murders between July and September – an increase of 3.9% year-on-year.
The bulk of the murders took place in Cape Town, with 437 cases reported in the East Metro district, and 403 in the West Metro district.
The precincts that had the highest number of murder cases were Nyanga, Delft, Kraaifontein, Philippi East, Harare, Khayelitsha, Mfuleni, Gugulethu, Samora Machel and Mitchells Plain.
Western Cape Community Safety MEC Reagan Allen said he remained “deeply worried about gang-related violence”.
He added that more than 80% of the country’s gang-related murders took place in the province.
“We must dismantle organised crime in a way that keeps the community safe,” he added.
However, Allen said the province had shown one of the lowest increases for murder in the country, second to the Free State.
During a briefing on the crime statistics on Tuesday, police said there were 113 murder victims in 53 dockets. Forty-six were double murders and another seven were triple murders.
The multiple murders were driven by vigilantism and gang violence, the police added.
More than half of all murders were committed with firearms, while another 16% of all murders involved knives.
In an attempt to reduce the violence, police plan to clamp down on possession of weapons over the festive season, Western Cape police commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile said.
“The weapons of choice that we’re seeing are firearms and knives. During the upcoming festive season, we will be aggressively policing those. If we find you [with a knife], we’re going to have to arrest you,” he said.
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