St Helena Bay — Crime Intelligence Brief
FY 2023/24 vs FY 2024/25 | SAPS Financial Years (April–March)
Headline Finding: Residential Burglaries
Headline Finding: Residential Burglaries| FY 2023/24 (Apr 2023 – Mar 2024) | FY 2024/25 (Apr 2024 – Mar 2025) | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential break-ins | 176 | 97 |  −79 cases (−44.9%) |
A 44.9% year-on-year reduction in house break-ins is statistically significant and cannot be attributed to natural fluctuation. This is the single most important metric for resident safety in St Helena Bay.
Key Metrics at a Glance
Key Metrics at a Glance| Metric | FY 2023/24 | FY 2024/25 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential burglaries | 176 | 97 |  −44.9% |
| Total property crime | 217 | 120 | −44.7% |
| Non-residential break-ins | 11 | 4 | −63.6% |
| Theft from vehicles | 25 | 15 | −40.0% |
| Stock theft | 4 | 3 | −1 count |
| General theft (other) | 101 | 96 | −5.0% |
| Shoplifting | 6 | 3 | −3 counts |
| Malicious damage to property | 55 | 46 | −16.4% |
| Commercial crime | 45 | 76 |  +68.9% |
Residential Burglary — Three-Period Trajectory
Residential Burglary — Three-Period Trajectory| Period | Cases | Note |
|---|---|---|
| FY 2022/23 (Apr 2022 – Mar 2023) | ~200+ | Community estimate — not verified SAPS data |
| FY 2023/24 (Apr 2023 – Mar 2024) | 176 | SHBCW launches |
| FY 2024/25 (Apr 2024 – Mar 2025) | 97 | −44.9% vs prior year |
The trend is clear and sustained — not a one-period anomaly.
What Is Working
What Is WorkingThese crime categories are all responding positively to SHBCW’s visible deterrence model:
- Residential burglaries — down 44.9%
- Total property crime — down 44.7%
- Non-residential break-ins — down 63.6%
- Theft from vehicles — down 40%
- Malicious damage to property — down 16.4%
These are all movement-dependent, opportunistic crimes — exactly the categories most suppressed by camera coverage, active patrols, and coordinated community response.
Area Requiring Attention
Area Requiring AttentionCommercial crime rose 68.9% (45 → 76 cases) in FY 2024/25.
This category typically involves:
- Invoice fraud
- Card skimming
- Internal business theft
Commercial crime is not deterred by physical patrols. It requires a separate, targeted response — business owner awareness sessions and direct engagement with the SAPS Commercial Crimes Unit.
Intelligence Assessment
Intelligence AssessmentThe data strongly suggests that SHBCW’s visible deterrence model is working as intended. Criminals are displacing away from monitored areas — the hallmark signature of effective surveillance and patrol coverage.
What the evidence supports:
- Increased visibility (cameras, patrols, greenbelt monitoring) is directly suppressing opportunistic crime
- The reduction in house break-ins is not random fluctuation — it reflects a structural change in criminal behaviour in the area
- St Helena Bay is reversing the historically elevated burglary risk typical of coastal Western Cape communities
Strategic priority going forward:
- Maintain and expand patrol coverage to hold these gains into FY 2025/26
- Open a parallel workstream targeting commercial crime through business community engagement
Analyst’s Conclusion
Analyst’s ConclusionSince the introduction of SHBCW, St Helena Bay has achieved:
- −45% fewer residential burglaries (176 → 97)
- −45% reduction in total property crime (217 → 120)
- A clear, sustained reversal of the burglary trend that has historically affected coastal towns in the Western Cape
This is a measurable, meaningful improvement in community safety — directly attributable to organised, visible community action.
Data source: SAPS Crime Statistics — St Helena Bay Police Station
Compiled for community intelligence purposes
SAPS financial years run 1 April – 31 March
FY 2022/23 trajectory figure is a community estimate and is not verified SAPS data
A Word of Thanks to Our Community
A Word of Thanks to Our CommunityNone of these numbers happen by accident.
Behind every percentage drop — every house that wasn’t broken into, every family that wasn’t affected — is a community that chose to act. Building SHBCW has required hundreds of hours of volunteer time, personal contributions, neighbourly trust, and a shared belief that we can make St Helena Bay safer together.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed:
- To those who funded cameras, equipment, and infrastructure — your investment is visible in this data
- To our patrol volunteers who give up their time, often late at night and on weekends, to keep watch over our streets and greenbelts
- To residents who report suspicious activity, stay alert, and keep the communication channels active
- To those who helped build and maintain the systems, platforms, and coordination tools that make SHBCW function
- To the businesses and property owners who have supported the initiative and extended its reach across the community
This is your achievement. The crime figures don’t reflect the work of a single person or a single system — they reflect what happens when a community decides to take its safety seriously and backs that decision with real, sustained effort.
The work is not done. The gains we have made need to be protected, and there are still areas — particularly commercial crime — that require our attention. But St Helena Bay has demonstrated something important: organised, committed communities can change the trajectory of crime in their area.
We are proud of what we have built together, and grateful to every person who has played a part in it.
— The SHBCW Team