Proactive operations have seen a drop in residential burglaries in Port Alfred and Alexandria. Lack of capacity in the criminal justice system and correctional services is one of the factors that has seen this crime on the rise in the areas served by the Kenton-on-Sea Police Station.
For the Eastern Cape, successes in combating extortion, kidnapping, robberies and murder were highlighted at the release of the provincial crime statistics for the second half of last year. At police stations in Ndlambe, home burglaries continue to swell reported crime numbers and commercial crimes remain a growing concern.
Four times a year, the South African Police Service releases a report on crimes during the previous three months that were reported at the country’s 1163 police stations. It mainly focuses on 21 priority crimes, grouped into two main types. These are 17 community-reported serious crimes subdivided into four broad categories: contact, contact-related, property-related and other serious crimes; and four crimes that are detected as a result of police action (illegal possession of a firearm; illegal possession of ammunition; unlawful use or possession of drugs; unlawful dealing in drugs; driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs).
For the purpose of SAPS’ crime reports, Quarter 1 is April-June; January to March the following year is Q4.
Commercial crime
Commercial crime seems to be steadily increasing in Ndlambe noticeably as reported at four of the police stations. Commercial crimes include fraud.
Alexandria: from 6 to 14 (Q2 in 2023 and 2024); and from 10 to 6 (Q3 in 2023 and 2024).
Kenton: from 11 to 12 (Q2 in 2023 and 2024); and from 8 to 10 (Q3 in 2023 and 2024)
Port Alfred – massive! Q3 (the festive runup and festive period) in the five years from 2020 to 2024: 19, 28, 28, 37, 38.
In Kleinemonde (Seafield) it was practically the only crime reported. (2 incidents in the second quarter in both 2023 and 2024)
Talk of the Town asked the South African Police Service detailed questions about the Ndlambe crime statistics. We hadn’t received a response by the time of publishing and will share their response when we receive it.
We also asked civilians closely involved in community safety in Port Alfred, Bathurst and Kenton-on-Sea for their take on the stats for their areas.
PORT ALFRED
The following selected stats for Port Alfred for Q2 (July to September) and Q3 (October to December) are reflected below. The two figures in each quarter compare stats for the same period in 2023 to 2024. Residential burglaries dropped significantly.
Burglary non-residential
Q2: 14 to 5
Q3: 21 to 8
Burglary residential
Q2: 44 to 20
Q3: 70 to 29
Commercial crime
Q2: 30 to 39 (
Q3: 37 to 38
Drug related crimes
Q2: 29 to 32
Q3: 29 to 33
Why have burglaries dropped by half, and what makes these commercial crime stats to be on the rise? we asked owner of security company Multi Security, Clinton Millard.
“Multi Security especially has been putting a lot of work in proactive security,” Millard said. “We have seen our guys make a number of arrests over the past two months.
“One of our officers, Edward van der Riet, has in fact made his 50th active arrest with Multi. It’s dedication like this that makes our team so productive out in the field. And with the number of extra operations we have been doing it has definitely made a difference,” Millard said.
“We are concerned that we are seeing more of an organised crime slipping into the crime trends. This is important to know. With business kidnapping and syndicate crime creeping in, inform sharing amond those involved in safety and security is key. With our team working with all the law enforcement agencies, it has helped combat these crimes”
On organised crime, Millard said they had found that businesses that carried lots of cash over weekends and public holidays seemed to be targeted.
“Especially those that transport cash off site themselves.”
BATHURST
Assault with grievous bodily harm
Q2: 14 to 17
Q3: 19 to 12
Burglary at residential premises
Q2: 19 to 35
Q3: 35 to 27
Malicious Damage to Proprty (MDP)
Q3: From 6 to 7
Bathurst CPF chairperson Danie Boneschans responded to Talk of the Town’s questions.
“From a CPF perspective, the increase in burglary at residential premises in Q2 2023/2024 is concerning and aligns with the strategies we (the Bathurst community) has put in place for a more promising 2025,” Boneschans said.
“It emphasises the need for stronger community vigilance, better coordination with SAPS, and improved block watch participation.
“The drop in Q3 suggests that some of our community-driven interventions, such as increased reporting, awareness, and patrolling, may have started to make an impact. It goes without saying that crime trends can fluctuate, so we need to remain proactive.”
Boneschans agreed with TOTT’s observation that for a small precinct, the number of instances of malicious damage to property was significant.
“This often correlates with alcohol-related incidents, disputes, or opportunistic crime, which is something we’ve been discussing with SAPS as part of crime prevention efforts.
“Moving forward, we encourage residents to report all incidents, however small, so we can track patterns and strengthen both SAPS response and community safety initiatives.
“Residents can report incidents to their Block Whatsapp Admins, or access all relevant information on how to get involved in all sorts of ways by visiting our website: https://sites.google.com/view/bathurstcpf or send us an email at bathurstcpf@gmail.com”
ALEXANDRIA
In both periods reported, Alexandria Police Station saw a slight drop in reported cases of Assault GBH for the same period in 2023 and 2024. Q2: 22 to 17 and Q3: 20 to 16.
Four attempted murders were reported at Alexandria Police Station
Non-residential burglaries in Q2 dropped from 11 to 2 and in Q3 from 18 to 5. Residential burglaries dropped in Q2 from 27 to 15 and Q3 21 to 16. TOTT wasn’t able to source local expert opinion on the reason.
KENTON-ON-SEA
The police station at Kenton-on-Sea serves an extensive area that includes Bushmans River Mouth, Klipfontein, Nature’s landing, Ekuphumleni, and the surrounding farms and rural settlements. In the EC crime stats for the second quarter, July-September 2024, Kenton-on-Sea police station features (only just, at #30) in the top 30 stations for burglary at residential premises: there were 43 reported in that three-month period, compared to 38 in the same period in 2023.
For the third quarter last year (October to December), Kenton police station recorded 35 residential burglaries reported (compared to 15 in the same period in 2023).
The other noticeably growing crime reported at Kenton police station is Assault GBH: 2nd quarter (July-Sept): 2023 – 16; 2024 – 28; 3rd quarter (Oct-Dec): 2023 – 25; 2024 – 29.
First, chairperson of the area’s community policing forum, and also the Kenton based Night Watch neighbourhood watch organisation Ferenc Toth says, these statistics reflect only half the problem.
“I would say that you could add at least the same stats again in unreported crime.”
A lack of capacity in the criminal justice system and overcrowding of correctional facilities is partly to blame.
“Correctional services facilities are overcrowded and too many criminals are let out on parole,” Toth said. “Often the offenders continue their criminal trajectory. We know many of the repeat offenders.”
Minutes from the February 4 meeting of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services confirm that the average overcrowding rate in South Africa’s correctional facilities is approximately 46%. Moreover, protectionweb.co.za reports that South Africa’s correctional services face significant staffing challenges, as revealed in a detailed response to a parliamentary inquiry by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS).
According to protectionweb, the vacancy rate for correctional officers is 11%, and in rehabilitation and social services roles, 13%. For parole officers there is a national vacancy rate of 11.55%.
In other words, DCS’s capacity to supervise parolees is compromised.
“The problem is real,” Toth told Talk of the Town. “There are people let out on parole who have not been rehabilitated.”
Toth said if residents were aware of someone in their community who was out on parole and “shouldn’t be” they could write a letter to correctional services opposing their parole.
“The trouble is it is a small community, and people are vulnerable if they speak out,” Toth said.
Reinforcing analysis by SAPS in the provincial crime stats, Toth said almost all the incidences of gender based violence were liquor related.
“Liquor outlets don’t close when they’re supposed to and SAPS have their hands full already without having to repeatedly police them,” Toth said. Toth believe that the Liquor Board should take more responsibility for consequences of non compliance.
- This article was first published in Talk of the Town, March 20, 2025. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
