East London, Mthatha flagged as crime hotspots
Fleet Street police station number one in serious crimes reported, latest stats reveal
East London as well as Mthatha feature a number of times in the top 30 lists of police stations in the country experiencing a high volume of serious crimes like rape, contact crimes, car thefts and burglaries.
This was revealed in the latest Eastern Cape crime statistics report released by transport and community safety MEC Xolile Nqatha in Mthatha on Thursday.
Nqatha was joined by provincial police commissioner Ltgen Nomthetheleli Mene.
The statistics cover the period between October and December 2023.
They show that East London’s Fleet Street police station is number one in terms of serious crimes reported by the community.
The city is number two in terms of contact crime and number three in terms of rape, after Mthatha, which tops the list, followed by Lusikisiki.
East London is number two in robbery of non-residential premises but tops the list in terms of burglary in non-residential areas.
Cambridge station comes first for residential burglaries.
East London tops the list for theft of motor vehicles and motorcycles.
Mthatha is the capital of both murder and rape in the Eastern Cape.
The town occupies second spot in the country for rape, with 83 incidents reported in the period under review.
There were 49 murders in the area in the period, putting it at 13th in SA.
Lusikisiki, which for many years has been the province’s rape capital, now occupies the second spot in the province with 73 incidents.
Regarding stock theft, Kwabhaca (formerly Mount Frere) is at number one in the province, and nationally, with 90 cases — an increase of 36 — followed by Qumbu, Mthatha, Tsolo and Bityi.
Anti-crime activists based in East London said they were not surprised by the latest stats and called for more police visibility and activity.
Community police forum activist Ludumo Salman said police should follow up on crimes reported to them, including crimes committed by illegal foreign nationals.
“East London, which is part of Buffalo City Metro, has always been a hotspot [for crime], together with Nelson Mandela Bay Metro and OR Tambo district, for different crimes.
“They are up there, the three of them. I am not surprised at all,” he said.
“For as long as we don’t have enough police visibility, which is informed by enough police personnel in our police precincts [we will have the challenge].
“The deployment of police to police stations ... should speak to the population.”
Salman called for the hiring of more police and for more effective policing.
He called for BCM to upgrade its law enforcement practices and create a metro police service that dealt effectively with violations of bylaws.
Communities should be more actively involved in crime fighting and prevention, he added.
Quigney crime forum chair Anele Mkhangelwa said he was not surprised by the stats and they regularly experienced crimes on their patrols.
Citing two cases of car theft they investigated and reported to the police, Mkhangelwa blamed police inefficiency for the number of crimes that were not solved.
“We do report all the cases [we get] but the problem is that there is no follow-up ... most of the cases are closed and [police] say there is not enough evidence or the complainant has not opened a case.
“The problem is with the police.”
The statistics revealed that firearms were the most common instrument used to commit murder in the province, followed by knives.
When it came to rapes, they occurred most frequently at either the perpetrator or victim’s place.
Recreational centres, beaches, parking areas and abandoned buildings were other places where rapes occurred.
In terms of carjackings, sedans and hatchbacks were the most targeted followed by bakkies, SUVS and trucks.
In burglary incidents at religious, education and liquor premises, the statistics reveal that education premises were the most targeted with 321 incidents, followed by 93 at liquor premises and 66 at religious premises.
DA MPL Bobby Stevenson said the BCM area was “fast becoming a hotbed for crime in the Eastern Cape”.
“What is of big concern to the residents of Buffalo City Metro is the rise in break-ins at businesses, and also in residential areas.
“To deal with this, there needs to be a partnership between the police, the business community and security companies, as well as community watches.
“The SAPS alone cannot safeguard communities. There has to be what we call the whole-ofsociety approach.”
He said neighbourhood patrols were needed, and he called for people to come forward to help fund CCTV cameras.
Mene said it was evident that some areas, such as Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City metros, as well as OR Tambo district, continued to pose significant crime challenges.
“The top five stations identified as hotspots in contact crimes are Mthatha, East London, New Brighton, Kwazakhele and Lusikisiki.
“The total [number of] property-related crime shows a significant decrease.
“This decrease is also noticed in our stock theft cases, which show a 0.7% decline,” Mene said.
Nqatha said he was happy to see that police were dealing with an extortion problem in Mthatha.
“A task team has been established and at least 30 people have opened cases.”