Garden Route’s violent crime down, sex crimes up
The Garden Route is still one of the safest places to live in order to avoid violent crime, but sexual and commercial offences are on the increase.
According to crime statistics released on a station-by- station basis yesterday, Knysna, George, Plettenberg Bay, Oudtshoorn and Mossel Bay saw a decrease of 14% in reported murders.
Police said 174 murders were reported from April 2008 to March 2009, compared to the 149 reported from April 2009 to March this year.
Sex crimes, however, increased by just under 29% during the same time, going from 626 to 881.
Burglaries of homes, by far the most prolific crime along the Garden Route, increased from 3655 cases in the last financial year to 3773 cases this year. The increases, though, were mostly in Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn, while George’s statistics remained fairly even and both Plett and Knysna saw a decrease.
While police appeared to be holding ground against housebreaking, burglaries from non-residential premises more than doubled in Plettenberg Bay from 54 to 133 cases while George, Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn saw increases of between 14 and 27 cases for the year.
Altogether, the five towns saw a 22% increase in burglaries from non-residential premises.
Commercial crimes increased by 8% for the region, from 650 to 712 reported cases, with Knysna and George reporting 48 and 47 more cases respectively.
Source: The Herald Online
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