South Africa’s top 10 smash-and-grab hotspots – Per province

A depressing 20,196 cases of “theft out of or from motor vehicles” were recorded in South Africa in the first quarter of the 2024/2025 period, averaging out to 224 incidents per day.

This is according to the latest crime data from the South African Police Services.

Theft out of or from motor vehicles is a type of property-related crime that primarily refers to incidents in which items are stolen from a car, with or without the owners present.

One of the most common tactics is a smash-and-grab, which is when a thief breaks a car’s window to quickly steal loose valuables such as a wallet, cellphone, or handbag.

It can also refer to cases when criminals steal tools or other goods stored in a bakkie’s load bin, or when individuals break into the back of delivery vehicles and make off with the cargo.

Part theft also falls under this umbrella. Affordable, readily available car components are in high demand on the black market, and criminals thus resort to taking parts from vehicles in the public.

The most commonly thieved auto components include airbags, batteries, tailgates, tyres, wheel rims, headlights, side mirrors, sound equipment, wheel caps, and wiper blades.

One positive thing to note is that “theft out of or from motor vehicles” crimes decreased over the recorded period, dropping by 744 cases or 3.6% compared to the previous quarter.

Smash-and-grab hotspots per province

Broken car windows are a common site in Gauteng, as it had the highest number of theft cases at 5,773 reports.

The top 10 police stations in Gauteng for smash-and-grabs were as follows:

Provincial position	RSA position	Station	Theft reported in Q1 2024/2025	Count difference
1	5	Sunnyside	238	+ 12
2	10	Kempton Park	198	+ 36
3	11	Brooklyn	193	+ 29
4	12	Pretoria Central	188	– 62
5	14	Midrand	169	– 1
6	15	Honeydew	163	– 36
7	16	Johannesburg Central	159	– 26
8	17	Sandton	153	+ 12
9	22	Lyttelton	146	+ 15
10	29	Roodepoort	125	+ 10

The Western Cape isn’t far behind, as it had 5,530 incidents.

The top 10 police stations in the Western Cape for smash-and-grabs were as follows:

Provincial position	RSA position	Station	Theft reported in Q1 2024/2025	Count difference
1	1	Cape Town Central	627	+ 11
2	2	Stellenbosch	296	– 10
3	7	Sea Point	212	– 53
4	13	Bellville	172	– 44
5	18	Claremont	152	– 5
6	19	Worcester	150	+ 25
7	20	Wynberg	148	+ 5
8	25	Mitchell’s Plain	132	– 8
9	26	Durbanville	130	+ 28
10	27	Rondebosch	127	+ 41

KwaZulu-Natal then came third in the rankings with 2,595 complaints.

The top 10 police stations in KZN for smash-and-grabs were as follows:

Provincial position	RSA position	Station	Theft reported in Q1 2024/2025	Count difference
1	4	Durban Central	294	– 7
2	5	Umbilo	119	– 45
3	19	Pinetown	118	– 17
4	27	Richard’s Bay	107	+ 5
5	40	Phoenix	77	+ 1
6	46	Berea	68	– 22
7	50	Mountain Rise	64	– 3
8	53	Empangeni	56	– 30
9	55	Durban North	55	– 11
10	56	Ladysmith	53	+ 5

This was followed by the Eastern Cape with 1,853 instances of stolen items.

The top 10 police stations in the Eastern Cape for smash-and-grabs were as follows:

Provincial position	RSA position	Station	Theft reported in Q1 2024/2025	Count difference
1	6	Humewood	214	– 62
2	9	East London	202	+ 8
3	31	Mount Road	124	+ 13
4	35	Cambridge	117	+ 3
5	50	Walmer	82	+ 37
6	65	Madeira	73	– 8
7	135	Komani	40	+ 9
8	137	Qonce	40	– 27
9	141	Grahamstown	39	– 3
10	163	Algoapark	35	+ 3

Much further down in the stats is North West, which had 1,043 cases.

The top 10 police stations in North West for smash-and-grabs were as follows:

Provincial position	RSA position	Station	Theft reported in Q1 2024/2025	Count difference
1	23	Rustenburg	143	+ 25
2	28	Klerksdorp	129	+ 39
3	47	Potchefstroom	86	– 7
4	63	Mahikeng	75	– 3
5	77	Brits	64	+ 11
6	84	Mmabatho	58	+ 32
7	125	Phokeng	42	+ 22
8	150	Ikageng	37	+ 17
9	151	Thabane	37	+ 14
10	161	Jouberton	36	+ 19

The Free State is right behind North West with 1,023 reports.

The top 10 police stations in the Free State for smash-and-grabs were as follows:

Provincial position	RSA position	Station	Theft reported in Q1 2024/2025	Count difference
1	4	Park Road	255	– 12
2	61	Welkom	76	– 13
3	62	Kagisanong	75	+ 26
4	122	Kroonstad	43	– 10
5	155	Phuthadtijhaba	37	+ 2
6	185	Mangaung	30	– 3
7	208	Heidedal	27	– 3
8	212	Harrismith	26	+ 6
9	218	Bainsvlei	25	+ 7
10	219	Sasolburg	25	+ 4

Dropping below the triple digits, Mpumalanga had 975 occurrences of theft out of a motor vehicle.

The top 10 police stations in Mpumalanga for smash-and-grabs were as follows:

Provincial position	RSA position	Station	Theft reported in Q1 2024/2025	Count difference
1	21	Witbank	147	+ 19
2	30	Nelspruit	125	– 46
3	32	Middleburg	124	– 13
4	103	Vosman	48	+ 3
5	132	Ermelo	40	+ 15
6	142	Secunda	39	– 6
7	204	Delmas	27	+ 9
8	240	Witrivier	23	– 27
9	251	Lydeburg	21	+ 5
10	285	Komatipoort	18	+ 5

Limpopo’s stats were similar to Mpumalanga’s, ending with 934 filings.

The top 10 police stations in Limpopo for smash-and-grabs were as follows:

Provincial position	RSA position	Station	Theft reported in Q1 2024/2025	Count difference
1	8	Polokwane	204	+ 36
2	68	Groblersdal	71	+ 35
3	112	Seshego	45	+ 13
4	146	Mokopane	38	+ 7
5	154	Thohoyandou	37	+ 7
6	169	Mahwelereng	33	+ 20
7	177	Burgersfort	31	+ 13
8	187	Westenburg	30	– 19
9	196	Namakgale	28	+ 27
10	203	Giyani	27	+ 10

Unsurprisingly, the sparsely populated Northern Cape had by far the lowest records, as only 470 people cited a smash and grab incident.

The top 10 police stations in the Northern Cape for smash-and-grabs were as follows:

Provincial position	RSA position	Station	Theft reported in Q1 2024/2025	Count difference
1	24	Kimberley	133	– 20
2	139	Upington	39	+ 11
3	198	Posmasburg	28	+ 3
4	201	Kuruman	28	– 27
5	223	Galeshewe	25	0
6	247	Roodepan	22	– 4
7	307	De Aar	16	+ 8
8	309	Rosedale	16	+ 1
9	320	Kakamas	15	+ 3
10	327	Douglas	15	– 1

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