After the release of the annual South African Police Service (SAPS) crime statistics report for 2017/2018 last week, Stellenbosch has seen a significant surge in several crime categories, with drug-related crime and sexual offences seeing some of the biggest increases.
Rape cases have seen a 12.3% increase, with 82 reported crimes in 2017/2018. Total sexual offences have increased 11%, with 111 reported cases. According to a report by The Economist in March 2017, the number of reported cases are an inaccurate representation of the actual number of incidents, as around only one in nine rape cases are reported to the police nationally.
[infogram id=”4f1e6006-85a0-44f3-8d65-21a4cad5b935″ prefix=”zrE” format=”interactive” title=”Step by Step Charts”]
Both common assault and assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm have seen sharp increases, at 13.3% (603 cases) and 10.1% (348 cases).
Drug-related crime has also dramatically increased by 34.9%, with 939 incidents reported, as well as an 81% increase in driving under the influence.
Carjacking has also increased substantially, seeing a 50% rise, with 24 individual incidents.
J.J. Huisamen (22), a Stellenbosch resident, says that he has experienced several criminal incidents this year: “I was waiting outside the Happy Oak for an Uber at around midnight and somebody pushed me to the ground and took my phone, and when I tried to chase him he pulled a knife out. I also recently experienced a hate-crime, after a group of people pushed me to the ground outside of De Lapa, and held me down for being gay, and kept harassing me until I convinced them to leave me alone.”
J.J. Huisamen (right) has been the victim of several criminal incidents this year in Stellenbosch. PHOTO: Facebook
Burglaries at residential premises have decreased slightly, by 6.4%, but with 1023 cases, its only a small victory. Burglaries at non-residential premises did however see a decrease in numbers, with 23% less reported cases, at 334 compared to the previous amount of 434.
Adriaan du Toit (24), a BSc Agri Horticulture and Soil Science student, who was recently the victim of a violent assault, after being pickpocketed by a group of three men, has had enough of the petty crimes in Stellenbosch:
“These three strangers came up to me in the alleyway between the mall late at night, pretending to greet me, and while two of them distracted me and tried to offer me drugs, the third one grabbed my leg as if he was pretending to feel my leg muscle. I immediately checked to see if my phone was still there and it wasn’t, and as I looked up they were running away.
“I eventually caught up to them in the Eikestad Mall parking lot where I confronted them, but the one guy picked me up and threw me onto the ground, tearing several ligaments in my elbow. I managed to still hold onto one of them until the police came, but was informed that nothing would happen to him as he did not have my phone on him. I ended up having to pay several thousand rand in hospital bills for my elbow and still lost my phone.”
Adriaan du Toit recently suffered a costly injury as a result of a crime in Stellenbosch. PHOTO: Adriaan du Toit
However, crimes detected by police action have increased by 41%, meaning that there has been a concerted effort by the Stellenbosch SAPS department to increase visible policing and law enforcement.