In addition, it showed the worst developments in six of the contact crimes between 2010/11 and 2015/16. This is according to the latest edition of Fast Facts, released by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) this month.
Contact crimes are defined by the SAPS as ‘crimes against the person’.
The data comparing all eight metropolitan municipalities by the seven contact-crime categories shows, among other things, that:
• Cape Town has a murder rate of 60 per 100,000 people, the highest of the eight metros, and almost twice the national average
• The metro’s aggravated robbery rate of 480 is also twice the national average
• Its murder and aggravated robbery rate increases of 40% and 77% respectively were the largest
• It was the only metro to show an increase in rates of common robbery in the period under review
Coincidentally, Western Cape households showed the largest decline in satisfaction with the police over the same period.
In previous reports, the IRR has shown how residents of the Western Cape, and Cape Town in particular, enjoyed relatively higher standards of living and superior access to basic services. These advantages do not seem to extend to residents’ personal safety as reflected in the SAPS data on contact crimes.
