Despite encouraging declines in key crime categories nationally, Gauteng remains the country’s epicentre of violent organised crime, accounting for the majority of carjackings, kidnappings, and nearly half of all cash-in-transit robberies recorded in South Africa.
Releasing the fourth-quarter crime statistics for the 2025/2026 financial year, acting police minister Firoz Cachalia painted a stark picture of a province still grappling with deeply entrenched criminal networks, warning that organised syndicates remain heavily embedded in South Africa’s economic heartland.
“Gauteng remains the epicentre of several forms of violent organised crime,” Cachalia said.
“It accounts for 57.1% of all carjackings in the country, 54.8% of all kidnappings, and 48.4% of all cash-in-transit robberies.”
“These are not opportunistic crimes. They are the work of organised criminal syndicates that are highly mobile, heavily armed, and deeply embedded in our economic centres.”
