Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Major General Tommy Mthombeni presented the province's crime statistics for the third quarter ending December 2025.
Image: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers
While Gauteng Provincial Police Commissioner, Major General Tommy Mthombeni, noted a marginal decrease of 8,253 counts of crime for the 3rd quarter ending December 2025, the police commissioner stated that he remains concerned by incidents of kidnapping and hijacking.
The province reported some decreases in contact crimes such as murder, attempted murder, and assault and robbery, while seeing a 2,1% increase in kidnappings, during the period under review.
Last month, Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) officers arrested kidnapping suspects and rescued a Lenasia businessman in Soweto.
Mthombeni, speaking at a media briefing in Randpark on Thursday, commended the efforts of law enforcement agencies that recently foiled the Lenasia kidnapping.
"The National Anti-Kidnapping Team, a specialised team from the National Head Office from Organised Crime has been established to handle kidnapping cases proactively. We also have the E2 Project (Eyes and Ears). This initiative links the police with the private security industry and Business Against Crime South Africa to enhance surveillance and response," he stated.
Mthombeni reported a decrease of 11.8% in the murder rate, although he noted a 6.5% rise in attempted murder, attributing the primary causes of murder to arguments, misunderstandings, road rage, provocation, vigilantism, and robbery.
"We urge the community to practice tolerance and de-escalate conflict where possible," he added.
The safety of police officers also remained a pressing issue, with Mthombeni lamenting the deaths of ten officers, six killed while off duty and four while on duty.
"Enough is enough," he said.
"We have lost ten members in the 3rd quarter. The senseless killings of our police officers will not be tolerated. We are resolute in taking decisive action against those who target the State," he said.
The provincial police head further welcomed the decrease in sexual offences, saying there was a 8% decrease. Rape decreased by 7% and sexual assault by 12,8%, 'while the combined convictions for the FCS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit (FCS) continues to bring perpetrators of sexual offences to book'.
Mthombeni said the unit took 1,144 to court and 1,189 sexual offenders were sentenced.
"The FCS, in collaboration with their partners, have embarked on a quest to create awareness about Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF). The team will continue to work closely with relevant stakeholders to intensify GBVF-related awareness campaigns by also participating in endeavours to heighten awareness in encouraging the reporting of the incidents," he stated.
The latest figures also reported a 6.3% reduction in robbery incidents, which includes carjacking, robbery at residential premises, robbery at business premises, robbery of cash-in-transit, bank robbery, and truck hijacking.
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