South Africa recorded an overall decrease in serious crime during the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year, but the latest police statistics show that the country still recorded hundreds of thousands of serious offences between April and June.
According to the South African Police Service’s first-quarter crime statistics, 339,395 counts of the 17 community-reported serious crimes were recorded nationally between April and June 2026. This was 6,787 fewer than the 346,182 recorded during the corresponding period in 2025, representing an overall decrease of 2%.
The SAPS report groups these crimes into contact crime, contact-related crime, property-related crime and other serious crime.
The national picture was mixed. Some of the country's most serious violent crimes declined substantially, particularly murder and aggravated robbery, while attempted murder and assault increased.
| Crime category | Apr–Jun 2025 | Apr–Jun 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murder | 5,770 | 5,427 | -5.9% |
| Sexual offences | 11,630 | 11,532 | -0.8% |
| Attempted murder | 6,401 | 6,938 | +8.4% |
| Assault GBH | 37,659 | 38,589 | +2.5% |
| Common assault | 41,661 | 42,491 | +2.0% |
| Common robbery | 10,850 | 10,276 | -5.3% |
| Robbery with aggravating circumstances | 31,475 | 26,839 | -14.7% |
| Total contact crime | 145,446 | 142,112 | -2.3% |
Percentage changes compare April to June 2026 with the same period in 2025. A decrease reflects fewer recorded crime counts than a year earlier, but the current-quarter figures still show the actual scale of crime recorded during the period.
Violence remains heavily linked to arguments and disputes
SAPS's analysis of known causative factors shows that arguments, misunderstandings, provocation and fights were the largest identified factor behind murder, attempted murder and assault GBH. They accounted for 880 murders, 2,052 attempted murders and 17,617 assault GBH counts in the samples analysed. Retaliation or revenge was another significant factor, linked to 307 murders and 3,046 assault GBH counts.
Where these crimes occurred also differed. Public places were the most common location in the murder sample, accounting for 2,871 murders, followed by residences with 1,614. For assault GBH, residences were the most common location, with 13,743 counts, followed by public places at 9,604 and liquor outlets at 3,593.
Property crime continued to decline
Property-related crime fell from 74,048 to 70,677 counts, a decrease of 4.6%. Residential burglaries declined 7.3%, motor vehicle and motorcycle theft fell 7.0%, and stock theft fell 6.7%. Theft out of or from motor vehicles was virtually unchanged, increasing by just 21 counts or 0.1%.
Burglary at non-residential premises included substantial numbers of attacks on community institutions. Of the 10,564 burglaries analysed, 2,174 involved educational premises, 640 religious premises and 436 liquor premises.
Police-detected crime increased
In contrast to community-reported serious crime, offences detected as a result of police action increased by 8.8%, from 78,852 to 85,819.
The increase was largely driven by:
- Drug-related crime: 51,732 → 57,682, up 11.5%
- Driving under the influence: 20,070 → 21,370, up 6.5%
- Illegal possession of firearms and ammunition: 3,797 → 3,539, down 6.8%
- Sexual offences detected through police action: 3,253 → 3,228, down 0.8%
Overall picture
The quarter therefore shows an improvement in the overall number of serious crimes reported nationally, particularly murder, aggravated robbery, carjacking, residential robbery and several property crimes. At the same time, the figures show continuing concern around attempted murder and assault, with attempted murder rising 8.4%, assault GBH 2.5% and common assault 2.0%.