Mthatha in the Eastern Cape has taken the pole position as the province's crime capital, recording major spikes in both its murder and rape crime statistics.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) briefed Parliament on Friday morning on the latest stats for the period April 2023 to June 2023.
The data revealed that there had been 18 fewer murders in Mthatha between April and June, bringing the total to 51.
The number of reported rapes during the same period jumped from 33 to 57.
Mthatha is ninth on the country's Top 30 list for murder, with the most killings recorded at the Inanda and Umlazi police stations in KwaZulu-Natal.
Other Eastern Cape police stations in the Top 30 list for murder are Kwazakhele, with 51 murders recorded during the three months, a decline of 18 compared to the same period last year and Kwanobuhle, with 41 - an increase of seven.
Motherwell and New Brighton also feature, with 38 and 30 murders, respectively.
Nationwide, 6 228 people were killed, a decrease of 196 or 3.1%.
All provinces, with the exception of Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape, reported decreases in the murder rate over the three-month period.
When it comes to rape, most cases in the Eastern Cape were also reported in Mthatha, which saw a massive increase of 24 incidents, from 33 to 57 cases.
It is followed by Lusikisiki and Ngqeleni, which recorded 43 and 40 rape cases, respectively.
Addressing the media on Friday, Police Minister Bheki Cele said "The crime statistics give us a sober assessment of the state of crime in the country and the progress made by law enforcement to safeguard this nation and its people".
He said the 3.1% decline in the murder rate is no cause for celebration.
"Six-thousand-228 is not just a number.
"It is people whose lives were cut short at the hands of another. The 3.1% reduction in the country's murder rate must, however, further bolster all policing interventions that have led to less people being killed in our country."
