The most likely place to be murdered in the Western Cape is the black township of Nyanga, especially over a weekend and after dark, provincial community safety MEC Dan Plato said on Wednesday.
The township, situated near the Cape Town International Airport, recorded the highest number of reported murders last year, based on forensic pathology data, he said.
Plato was speaking at the release of the first “Shadow Crime Report”, which used mortuary statistics — from 2008 to 2012 — to give detailed information on provincial crime, in addition to the police’s annual crime statistics.
The report revealed that 10 police stations, all in Cape Town, contributed to just under half of the province’s 2290 reported murders.
These were Nyanga, Khayelitsha, Harare, Gugulethu, Kraaifontein, Delft, Mitchell’s Plain, Philippi East, Bishop Lavis and Mfuleni.
A typical murder victim was most likely to have been stabbed; to have drank alcohol beforehand; and to be a black man aged between 18 and 35.
The report revealed that 87 percent of murder victims were men. Half of those murdered were stabbed, a quarter were shot, and about 17 percent died of severe assault or blunt trauma.
Seventy percent of those killed tested positive for alcohol.
In areas known for gang violence, the number of people killed by gunshots was significantly higher than the provincial norm of 26 percent.
About 85 percent of murders reported to the Belhar police station were gunshot-related.
Steenberg, Bishop Lavis and Elsie’s River were the next highest.
Plato said the purpose of the report was not to criticise police, but to move away from a “one-size-fits-all” approach to crime.
The department planned to release a report every six months, and use the information to create “localised responses” to specific community crime trends. – Sapa