The Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Community Safety has called for urgent intervention in the Honeydew policing precinct after the local police station was ranked the worst-performing in the province and fourth worst nationally.
The ranking is based on the first quarter crime statistics for the 2026/27 financial year. The committee conducted an oversight visit to Honeydew Police Station following the release of the figures.
The latest statistics show increases in several serious and violent crime categories in the precinct.
Murder increased by 11% compared with the corresponding period of the previous financial year, while sexual offences rose by 22%.
Assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm recorded the largest increase among the three categories highlighted by the committee, rising by 26%.
Portfolio committee chairperson Dr Bandile Masuku described the increases as unacceptable and said the crime situation required urgent and coordinated intervention.
The committee said the figures reflected the impact of violent crime on residents in the Honeydew policing precinct.
During the oversight visit, community members raised concerns about gangsterism and the alleged involvement of young people, including school-going children, in criminal activity.
Residents also reported violent crimes involving firearms, knives and pangas.
The availability and consumption of alcohol were identified as factors contributing to crime in the area. Concerns were also raised about liquor outlets allegedly operating beyond their permitted trading hours.
The committee has resolved to convene a Community Safety Imbizo in Honeydew.
The planned engagement is expected to bring together police management, government departments, law enforcement agencies, councillors, the Community Policing Forum and residents to discuss the crime situation and possible interventions.
Masuku said tackling crime could not be left to the South African Police Service alone, with the committee calling for greater cooperation between police, government departments, municipalities, schools, law enforcement agencies, liquor enforcement authorities, civil society and communities.
The committee’s intervention comes as the Gauteng legislature continues to exercise oversight over policing and crime prevention in the province.
Earlier this year, the committee received crime statistics from Gauteng provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni covering the third quarter of the 2025/26 financial year.
Those statistics covered the period from October to December 2025 and formed part of the committee’s constitutional oversight responsibility over law enforcement agencies in Gauteng.
The committee has previously raised concerns about police capacity and infrastructure at stations across the province.
In May, it called for urgent intervention at Pretoria West Police Station after an oversight visit identified infrastructure and information and communication technology challenges affecting policing and service delivery.
The committee has also raised concerns about violent crime and policing capacity in other parts of Gauteng.
In March, it said Gauteng police had reported that 10 police officers were murdered in the province during the third quarter of the 2025/26 financial year. Four of those officers were killed while on duty and six while off duty.
The same briefing showed that kidnapping cases had increased by 2.1% during the period under review.
The Honeydew figures have now placed renewed focus on the ability of police and other law enforcement agencies to respond to serious crime in the precinct.
The committee said the Community Safety Imbizo would provide an opportunity for residents and authorities to engage directly on the problems affecting the area and establish interventions to address the rising levels of violent crime.
For the committee, the latest crime figures underline the need for a coordinated response involving law enforcement and the wider community.
