Durban - KwaZulu-Natal recorded the most murders out of all of South Africa's nine provinces, the annual release of crime statistics showed.
According to the latest crime statistics, covering the period between 1 April 2017 - 31 March 2018, KZN police recorded 4382 murder in the past financial year - up 368 from the previous reporting period.
A close second was Gauteng who recorded 4 233 - up from the previous reporting period of 4101.
The Western Cape recorded 3 729 murder in the last financial year while the Eastern Cape recorded 3815.
The province with the least murders was Northern Cape with 340 murders.
An overview of murder per province.
Firearms were the most commonly used instrument to commit murder the statistics showed, comprising 41.3% followed by knives, 30.7%, and other sharp instruments at 11.1%.
Police Minister, Bheki Cele slammed the increase in the murder statistics, saying police had "dropped the ball" and the figures were nothing to write home about.
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The statistics revealed that murder had increased by 6.9 percent in the past year - or 1 320 more killings than the previous reporting period.
On average, 57 people are killed in South Africa every day.
Police committee chairperson, Francois Beukman said the crime statistics were shocking. "What is quite important to note is that the murder increase of 6.9% is really alarming and totally unacceptable... violent crime is indeed a clear and present danger to all South Africans."
These are the weapons used to commit murder
Daily News