Experts have rejected a study by a Brazilian research institute that has ranked Buffalo City Metro as the third most dangerous and violent city in Africa.
According to data produced by Igarapé Institute and compiled by UK newspaper The Economist, BCM has a murder rate of 45 per 100000 people.
It said Nelson Mandela Bay Metro was the second-most dangerous city in South Africa with a murder rate of 53 per 100000 after Cape Town, which is leading with 61 murders per 100000 people.
The three South African cities are the only African cities included in the international study, which places San Salvador in El Salvador‚ Acapulco in Mexico and San Pedro Sula in Honduras as the three most dangerous cities in the world.
Cape Town was ranked as the 14th most dangerous city in the world and number one in Africa.
A senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies at Wits University, Dr Johan Burger, slammed the Brazilian report as “extremely superficial” and “simplistic” in its analysis.
“They come out every second year and tell us that Cape Town is the murder capital – it is absolute nonsense,” he said.
“They take the whole Cape Town metropolitan area, where most of Cape Town’s crime really doesn’t happen – it happens mainly in the poor communities where alcohol and drug abuse is rife, like the Cape Flats. My problem with the Brazilians is that they do not dig into these problems – one would want to see a solid analysis of each police station’s crime situation so that analysts can start looking at why we have those crimes there.
“I don’t put much value in this report. Aggravated robberies, business robberies where people are murdered in Gauteng, happen almost on a daily basis but are not included in their report.”
The Eastern Cape government has also slammed the report, saying it raised questions over the reasons for overlooking Mthatha.
Michael Peter, an ANC MPL who chairs the portfolio committee on safety and liaison in the Bhisho legislature, does not believe BCM has a higher murder rate than Mthatha.
“I disagree with this study – it raises questions for not including Mthatha. Buffalo City is better compared to Mthatha because there is a high level of community policing structures and awareness at community level.
“There is a high alert on how criminal activities are manifesting themselves because people here can observe and prevent crime before it happens better as compared to Mthatha.”
Peter did not say on what he based his claims, but agreed about the murder rates for Nelson Mandela Bay and Cape Town.
“Port Elizabeth’s gangsterism in the northern suburbs is the driving force behind the high murder rate.
“As for Cape Town, they are also correct there, owing to the size of that area – it is logic.”
Eastern Cape provincial police spokeswoman Brigadier Marinda Mills said the police were not able to validate the report due to lack of information, especially relating to the population figures used by the research.
According to the latest crime statistics compiled for 2016, a total of 2897 murders were recorded by the police for the whole of the Eastern Cape province.
The statistics placed Nelson Mandela Bay at the top in the province with 508 murders committed, an increase of 5.83% from the previous year.
Mills said the increase was due to gang-related violence.
With an increase of 14.18% from the previous year, Mthatha ranked second with 411 murders recorded.
BCM was third, with an increase of 9.49% bringing its total to 343 murders committed.
Butterworth was placed fourth in the crime statistics with 274 murders committed – an increase of 4.98%.
Nyanga in Cape Town‚ often referred to as the murder capital of South Africa, had a reported 61 murders per 100000 people.
The Economist attributes Cape Town’s high murder rate to the high level of gang activity‚ while violence in the Eastern Cape is linked to overpopulation and poverty.
South Africa’s high murder rate in these cities puts the country among the top 10 most violent nations in the world. — With additional reporting by Tiso Black Star Group
BCM Africa’s ‘third most violent city’
According to data produced by Igarapé Institute and compiled by UK newspaper The Economist, BCM has a murder rate of 45 per 100000 people.
It said Nelson Mandela Bay Metro was the second-most dangerous city in South Africa with a murder rate of 53 per 100000 after Cape Town, which is leading with 61 murders per 100000 people.
The three South African cities are the only African cities included in the international study, which places San Salvador in El Salvador‚ Acapulco in Mexico and San Pedro Sula in Honduras as the three most dangerous cities in the world.
Cape Town was ranked as the 14th most dangerous city in the world and number one in Africa.
A senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies at Wits University, Dr Johan Burger, slammed the Brazilian report as “extremely superficial” and “simplistic” in its analysis.
“They come out every second year and tell us that Cape Town is the murder capital – it is absolute nonsense,” he said.
“They take the whole Cape Town metropolitan area, where most of Cape Town’s crime really doesn’t happen – it happens mainly in the poor communities where alcohol and drug abuse is rife, like the Cape Flats. My problem with the Brazilians is that they do not dig into these problems – one would want to see a solid analysis of each police station’s crime situation so that analysts can start looking at why we have those crimes there.
“I don’t put much value in this report. Aggravated robberies, business robberies where people are murdered in Gauteng, happen almost on a daily basis but are not included in their report.”
The Eastern Cape government has also slammed the report, saying it raised questions over the reasons for overlooking Mthatha.
Michael Peter, an ANC MPL who chairs the portfolio committee on safety and liaison in the Bhisho legislature, does not believe BCM has a higher murder rate than Mthatha.
“I disagree with this study – it raises questions for not including Mthatha. Buffalo City is better compared to Mthatha because there is a high level of community policing structures and awareness at community level.
“There is a high alert on how criminal activities are manifesting themselves because people here can observe and prevent crime before it happens better as compared to Mthatha.”
Peter did not say on what he based his claims, but agreed about the murder rates for Nelson Mandela Bay and Cape Town.
“Port Elizabeth’s gangsterism in the northern suburbs is the driving force behind the high murder rate.
“As for Cape Town, they are also correct there, owing to the size of that area – it is logic.”
Eastern Cape provincial police spokeswoman Brigadier Marinda Mills said the police were not able to validate the report due to lack of information, especially relating to the population figures used by the research.
According to the latest crime statistics compiled for 2016, a total of 2897 murders were recorded by the police for the whole of the Eastern Cape province.
The statistics placed Nelson Mandela Bay at the top in the province with 508 murders committed, an increase of 5.83% from the previous year.
Mills said the increase was due to gang-related violence.
With an increase of 14.18% from the previous year, Mthatha ranked second with 411 murders recorded.
BCM was third, with an increase of 9.49% bringing its total to 343 murders committed.
Butterworth was placed fourth in the crime statistics with 274 murders committed – an increase of 4.98%.
Nyanga in Cape Town‚ often referred to as the murder capital of South Africa, had a reported 61 murders per 100000 people.
The Economist attributes Cape Town’s high murder rate to the high level of gang activity‚ while violence in the Eastern Cape is linked to overpopulation and poverty.
South Africa’s high murder rate in these cities puts the country among the top 10 most violent nations in the world. — With additional reporting by Tiso Black Star Group
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