The latest crime stats South Africa’s police have released cover April to June 2026, the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year. Murder fell 5.9%, from 5 770 to 5 427 cases, which is 343 fewer people killed than in the same quarter last year. Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia released the national figures on 28 August 2026. KwaZulu-Natal, the last province to brief the public, released its provincial breakdown on 11 September.
Police count crime on the government financial year, which runs from 1 April to 31 March, not the calendar year. So this quarter is April, May and June 2026.
The national picture
| Category | Change on the same quarter last year |
|---|---|
| Murder | Down 5.9%, 5 427 cases |
| Attempted murder | Up 8.7%, 6 958 cases |
| Sexual offences | Down 0.8%, 11 532 cases |
| Robbery with aggravating circumstances | Down 14.7%, from 31 475 to 26 839 cases |
| Carjacking | Down 18.2%, 3 811 cases |
| Robbery at residential premises | Down 17.6% |
| Robbery at non-residential premises | Down 11.8% |
| Trio crimes | Down 16.4%, 2 156 fewer cases |
| Contact crime overall | Down 2.3%, from 145 446 to 142 112 cases |
| Assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm | 38 589 cases |
Two categories moved against the trend. Attempted murder rose 8.7%, and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm also increased. Cachalia noted that the 5.9% drop in murder was smaller than the 9.5% recorded in the preceding quarter, when murders fell from 5 727 to 5 181, and said the pace of progress was not yet where it should be.
Trio crimes are carjacking, house robbery and business robbery counted together.
Where the violence sits
Gauteng recorded the most murders and the most carjackings. KwaZulu-Natal recorded the most sexual offences, 2 291 cases, which is about a fifth of the national total on its own. Inanda, Ntuzuma, Chatsworth, Verulam and Phoenix, all in KwaZulu-Natal, are among the 30 police stations with the highest reported contact-crime totals in the country.
Cachalia said the national police ministry and provincial safety MECs had agreed to concentrate on 140 high-crime police stations, focusing on crime intelligence, detective services and operations against organised crime, extortion, illegal mining and gang violence.
He also identified alcohol as a major driver of violent crime, particularly murder and serious assault.
KwaZulu-Natal, released on 11 September
Acting provincial commissioner Major General Phumelele Makoba reported 1 179 murders in the province between April and June 2026. That is 20 fewer than the same quarter last year, a decline of 1.7%, and she warned against reading it as a victory while more than a thousand people are still killed every quarter.
Rape fell 1.3%, or 24 cases, to 1 820 reported in the quarter. Makoba pointed out that the province has recorded more than 1 800 rape cases in this same quarter for three years running.
Station-level movements within the province diverged sharply:
- Inanda recorded 15 fewer murders, a 19.2% drop, the biggest improvement in the province.
- Umlazi recorded six fewer and Esikhaleni five fewer.
- Cato Manor recorded 20 more murders, Ntuzuma 12 more, Empangeni 11 more and Vryheid seven more.
Makoba attributed 124 murders and 422 attempted murders in the quarter to arguments, misunderstandings, road rage and provocation. Police in the province reported 112 397 arrests since January through Operation Shanela and routine policing, and the recovery of 2 487 firearms and 29 353 rounds of ammunition. Forty-eight police officers were dismissed during the period.
With the local government elections on 4 November, Makoba urged political parties to compete without violence and said police would not take sides.
Read the numbers carefully
Three cautions.
These are crimes reported to police, not crimes committed. Categories where victims often do not report, particularly sexual offences and domestic violence, move for reasons that have nothing to do with how much of that crime is happening.
Percentages and case counts do not always line up cleanly in the coverage. At least one summary of the national release gave a reduction of 98 cases for both rape and sexual offences, which cannot be correct for both categories at once. Where a number matters to you, take it from the statistical release itself rather than a summary.
And a national average hides the local picture. A province can record an overall decline while individual stations inside it record double-digit increases, which is exactly what happened in KwaZulu-Natal this quarter. The station-level tables in the full release are the ones that describe the area you live in.
For what these numbers do to daily life rather than to policy, see how fear of crime is reshaping South African suburbs and the rise in church robberies. On gender-based violence, the national campaign is covered in South Africa goes purple against femicide.
Where to check
The South African Police Service publishes each quarterly crime statistics release, including the station-level tables, at www.saps.gov.za. Provincial breakdowns are issued separately by each provincial commissioner after the national release.
