The South African Police Service (SAPS) has released its crime stats for the 2018/19 period, outlining which areas in the country have recorded the most crime in the past year.

The stats cover 21 crime categories – 17 of which are reported by the public, and four of which are as a result of police activity.

A total of 2.01 million crimes were recorded in 2019 – down from the 2.09 million recorded in 2018.

This represents a 1% increase in the number of reported crimes in the 17 public categories, along with a massive 22% decline in the number of crimes as a result of police action.

As part of the presented data, the SAPS also broke down the police stations which recorded the highest levels of crime, with Cape Town central coming in as the most crime-ridden region, with 13,747 reported crimes – although down 10.9% from last year.

This was followed by Joburg Central with 12,199 reported crimes (down 0.2%), and Mitchell’s Plain with 11,374 reported crimes (down 0.1%).

In South Africa, crimes need to be reported at the police station that is closest to where the crime took place, giving a fair indication of the crime levels in the general region the police station is found in.

It should be noted, however, that station statistics may encompass more areas than where the station is located. For example, a station in a remote area may represent the reported crimes of several neighbourhoods and small towns surrounding it, as it is the only station available to service those areas.

These are the 30 most crime-ridden areas in South Africa, based on crimes reported to their station across the 17 community-reported categories: