Durban - The most dangerous areas to live in in Pietermaritzburg were those serviced by the Mountain Rise police station, which recorded 64 murders in a year, according to the latest crime statistics released on Tuesday.
This was 17 more than in the previous year – from April 1, 2013 to March 31, last year.
Robbery with aggravating circumstances also increased, by 32 instances, while sexual offences went down by seven. Drug-related offences dropped drastically from 1 285 to 595.
The safest areas to live in were Prestbury and Townhill, where no murders were recorded. However, burglary at residential premises went up the most in both areas – by 86 in Prestbury, and by 45 in Townhill.
The Pietermaritzburg police station, which serviced the city centre, had nine murders reported.
Commercial crime plummeted from 561 cases in the previous year to 393.
Common assault went up by 138 and drug-related offences by 209. More motorists drove under the influence of alcohol or drugs, 35 more than last year’s 85.
Sexual offence crimes went up by 90.
Six car hijackings were reported.
The Pietermaritzburg Central Community Police Forum’s Gerald Harry said a special task team had been formed to combat crime in the city. “They patrol 24 hours a day and their response is fast,” he said.
Harry said this had a lot to do with the reduction in certain crimes.
He was surprised to hear that drug-related offences had gone up, saying many drug dealers had been arrested. He said that while the number of dealers had been reduced, the number of users had not.
Burglary at residential premises went up the most in the areas serviced by the Alexandra Street police station. So did drug-related offences, by 118, bringing the new figure to 367.
The Plessislaer police station, which did not form part of the city’s policing cluster, but was serviced by the same municipality, recorded its smallest number of murders, 87, since 2005/06.
Having been named as one of the worst for crime in the province, the latest statistics showed a general reduction in crime. Robbery with aggravating circumstances went up the most, by 39, followed by robbery at non-residential premises, by 37.
Common assault dropped from 907 to 800. The total number of sexual offences increased from 234 to 245.
The Mercury