The latest crime statistics indicate that Nelson Mandela Bay’s most violent precincts have remained a constant major crime rate, while there is a general downward trend across the 17 major crimes reported on in the police’s quarterly statistics. (Photo: Deon Ferreira) 
With several stations once again ranking among the country’s 30 most violent police precincts, the slight drops in Nelson Mandela Bay’s crime statistics for the first two quarters of the financial year were cold comfort for its residents.
While it is encouraging to see several categories of crime showing a downward trend for the first half of the 2025-26 financial year, Mount Road and Kabega Park warranted a special mention as crime hotspots by the Eastern Cape’s community safety MEC last week.
Xolile Nqatha did not elaborate on why these two stations stood out, but unpacking the statistics revealed that old culprits Kwazakele and New Brighton, as well as their neighbours, once again recorded some of the highest murder rates in South Africa over the period in question.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/MC-MEC-collapse-gov.jpg "Eastern Cape MEC for community safety Xolile Nqatha. (Photo: Gallo Images / Beeld / Werner Hills)")
The first quarter ran from April to June 2025, and the second quarter from July to September 2025.
“In the second quarter of the year, the following stations have been identified as hotspots [for] serious crimes: East London, Mthatha, Cambridge, Mount Road and Kabega Park,” Nqatha said.
“We welcome the decreases registered in contact crime categories such as murder, attempted murder and trio crime (carjacking, house robbery and business robbery). However, we remain concerned about increases registered in rape and attempted sexual offences [across both quarters].”
Over both quarters, Mount Road police station recorded a year-on-year decrease across most crimes listed in the stats. Most significantly, robbery with aggravating circumstances dropped by about 45%, while trio crimes decreased by about 65%.
On the other hand, theft out of motor vehicles and commercial crimes showed noteworthy increases of 14% and 11% respectively.
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It is also worth mentioning that some crimes might be recorded at Mount Road purely because certain specialised units that serve the entire metro are stationed there.
In Kabega Park, commercial crimes showed a similar increase (11%), while a steep increase in burglaries was recorded (17%).
Meanwhile, Kwazakele and New Brighton were among the top 30 stations for the highest murder rates across both quarters.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DSC_8179-copy.jpg "Prosecutors from the New Brighton Magistrates’ Court line up for a ceremonial roll call during a memorial service for murdered prosecutor Tracy Brown, who was shot outside her home in August 2025. (Photo: Deon Ferreira)")
Between July and September, New Brighton recorded the highest murder rate in the Eastern Cape and placed seventh in the country, with 52 cases. In the previous quarter, it ranked 20th in the country, with 33 cases.
Neighbouring Kwazakele ranked 17th and 13th in the two quarters, recording 38 and 45 murders over the periods. Noteworthy is that Kwazakele’s year-on-year figures for the second quarter came down from 70 cases, a 35% drop.
Kwanobuhle, Walmer and Kwadwesi also made the top 30 list in the first quarter with 32, 31 and 28 murder cases.
While kidnappings were a major concern in Nelson Mandela Bay over the period in question, the number of reported cases did not crack the top 30 list.
Over the two quarters, 120 kidnapping cases were reported across the metro, signifying a year-on-year increase of 12 cases. However, these figures were nowhere near the reported cases of certain precincts in Gauteng, which made up the vast majority of the top 30 list for kidnappings.
In fact, Vosloorus alone in the Ekurhuleni District reported 143 cases.
In the second quarter, Nelson Mandela Bay’s Swartkops police station topped the rankings for public violence, with six cases. It recorded a combined 10 cases over the first half of the financial year. The bulk of these cases can be attributed to a spate of trucks being set alight in the area during community protests. DM