CAPE TOWN – The Western Cape recorded 345 murders in January this year, with 148 of those killings occurring in the final two weeks of the month.
The statistics, disclosed on today by DA Western Cape spokesperson on police oversight and community safety Benedicta van Minnen, show an average of 11 murders per day during January.
Between 18 and 24 January, 73 people were murdered, followed by a further 75 homicides between 26 and 31 January.
Van Minnen said the figures pointed to a worsening violent crime crisis requiring urgent intervention.
“There is an urgent need for the deployment of additional policing resources to identified crime hotspots, a clear and publicly communicated crime-fighting strategy with measurable outcomes, and accountability for persistent failures in policing and intelligence operations,” she said.
Van Minnen called for stronger cooperation between provincial leadership, the South African Police Service (SAPS), and community safety structures.
The DA has renewed its call for the devolution of investigative policing powers to the provincial government and the City of Cape Town, arguing this would enable the Western Cape to address policing capacity shortfalls.
According to the party, devolution would allow the province to strengthen investigations, deploy specialised units, and take proactive steps where SAPS has failed to act.
