Top 10 smash-and-grab hotspots in Gauteng, Western Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal

As many as 20,820 “theft out of or from motor vehicles” cases were reported in South Africa in the second quarter of the 2024/2025 period, according to the latest crime data from the South African Police Services.

This equates to roughly 226 incidents per day between July and September 2024.

Theft out of or from motor vehicles is a type of property-related crime that refers to incidents in which items are stolen from a car.

This can include smash-and-grabs where a person breaks a car’s window to quickly steal loose valuables such as a wallet, cellphone, or handbag, but it can also apply to cases where thieves remove tools or other goods stored in a bakkie’s load bin or the back of a delivery van.

Additionally, the phrase “theft from” motor vehicles can refer to part theft, as vehicle components are in high demand on the black market and criminals are only happy to provide the supply.

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

The one bit of good news is that “theft out of or from motor vehicles” filings dropped by 8.9%, or 2,030 incidents from 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 5,868 reports.

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

The Western Cape isn’t far behind, as it had 5,670 incidents.

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

KwaZulu-Natal then came third in the rankings with 2,811 complaints.

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

This was followed by the Eastern Cape with 1,825 instances of stolen items.

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

Dropping below the triple digits, Mpumalanga had 1,096 occurrences of theft out of a motor vehicle.

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

Much further down in the stats is North West, which had 1,071 cases.

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

The Free State is right behind North West with 1,006 reports.

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

Limpopo’s stats were similar to Mpumalanga’s, ending with 937 filings.

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

Unsurprisingly, the sparsely populated Northern Cape had by far the lowest records, as only 536 people cited a smash and grab incident.

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