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Gardens · Vredehoek · Zonnebloem · Tamboerskloof · Oranjezicht · Devil's Peak · City Centre · Bo-Kaap · De Waterkant
12 months to 30 June 2026Latest street report 29 Oct 2026
Compared with Cape Town, and over five years
The Cape Town Central station area, which includes the City Bowl, is about as safe as a typical Cape Town area for serious violence.
These figures cover the whole Cape Town Central station area, including the city centre, not only the City Bowl suburbs.
What kind of crime? Less of it is against people than across the city.
Share of the seven crime types recorded by SAPS, 12 months to June 2026
Against people: violence, robbery and sexual offences
Car crime
Theft and break-ins
Across Cape Town, 54% of recorded crime is against people. Here it is 34%.
How safe is it for you? About the same as a typical Cape Town area.
Serious violence per 100,000 residents a year, five-year average, all 63 police station areas. We count only the most serious cases, which are almost always reported, so areas compare fairly.
Cape Town Central ranks 23rd of 63, counting from the lowest: 26.0 a year per 100,000 residents, against 72.6 across Cape Town. Robbery: 4,936 per 100,000 residents a year, against 556 across the city. This rate also counts crimes against visitors, so in a busy area it can overstate the risk to people who live here.
Getting better or worse? Break-ins down, all seven types steady.
Crimes recorded by SAPS per year, July to June
Break-insmore than halved
All seven typessteady
Across Cape Town, the seven crime types fell 6% this year.Show the numbers
Share of the seven crime types recorded by SAPS, 12 months to June 2026
Cape Town Central
Cape Town
Against people
34%
54%
Car crime
24%
14%
Theft and break-ins
42%
32%
Per 100,000 residents a year, five-year average
Cape Town Central
Cape Town
Murder
26.0
72.6
Robbery
4,936
556
Position
23 of 63, fewest first
Crimes recorded by SAPS per year, July to June
Year
Break-ins
All seven types
21/22
500
7,590
22/23
379
9,741
23/24
531
10,985
24/25
279
9,690
25/26
188
8,278
If you live here, the chance of a break-in at home is higher than in most of Cape Town, and much lower than four years ago. Out and about, serious violence is about as common here as in a typical Cape Town area, but robbery runs well above the city's rate, so keep your phone and bag out of sight.
Crimes recorded by the Cape Town Central police station (city centre and City Bowl), published every quarter by the South African Police Service; residents and households from Census 2022. Latest quarter April to June 2026, released 28 August 2026. How this page is made
Street reports · City Bowl Armed ResponseNews reports
Street reports and news
Mostly theft, break-ins and car crime. Fewer street reports than a year earlier.
In the 12 months to June 2026, City Bowl Armed Response logged 98 incidents in its patrol area: 25 thefts, 24 break-ins, 19 car crimes, 9 robberies and 5 assaults, plus 16 cases of damage, trespass or other. The year before, it logged 157.
3 news reports of murders or suspicious deaths in that time: Gardens (July 2025), City Centre (September 2025) and Bo-Kaap (December 2025).
Since 1 July 2026, 1 news report of a murder or suspicious death, not yet in the figures above: Bo-Kaap (August 2026).
On this page, street reports from City Bowl Armed Response show where and when; news reports show the serious incidents that made the news; police statistics (SAPS, Cape Town Central police station (city centre and City Bowl)) show the trend for the whole station and the comparison with Cape Town.
Your neighbourhood
Street reports · City Bowl Armed ResponseNews reports
Street reports, 12 months to June 2026. They cover one company's patrol area.
Gardens
35street reports in Gardens in the 12 months to June 2026 (46 the year before)
Theft15
Break-ins6
Car crime6
Robbery4
Assault2
Damage, trespass and other2
Of these: 15 thefts, 6 break-ins, 6 car crimes, 4 robberies, 2 assaults and 2 cases of damage, trespass or other.
3 street reports in this period could not be placed in a neighbourhood.
Hotspots
Street reports · City Bowl Armed Response
Places our editors watch, counted from the same street reports.
Kloof Street strip (Gardens)
10 street reports in the 12 months to June 2026, mostly theft. Too few to compare with the year before (10 vs 9).
Keep bags on your lap and phones off the table, leave nothing visible in parked cars, and use ride-hailing from inside the venue late at night. None of this should keep you from one of the city's best evenings out.
Time of each street report, 12 months to June 2026
Crime type
00–06
06–12
12–18
18–24
Theft (25)
8
5
7
5
Break-ins (24)
7
11
5
1
Car crime (19)
7
7
1
4
No time of day stands out for the 25 thefts.
18 of the 24 break-ins were reported before noon.
14 of the 19 car crimes were reported before noon.
What helps here
Street reports · City Bowl Armed Response
Keep the alarm on overnight and set it when you leave in the morning: 18 of the 24 break-ins were reported before noon.
Leave nothing on show in a car parked on the street: 14 of the 19 car crimes were reported before noon.
Emergency: police 10111, or 112 from a mobile.
Police figures
Police statistics · SAPS, Cape Town Central police station (city centre and City Bowl)
Cape Town Central police station (city centre and City Bowl)
The station also covers the city centre, so these are not City Bowl figures. July 2025 to June 2026, compared with the 12 months before.
Crime mix
July 2025 to June 2026
July 2024 to June 2025
Theft and car crime make up most of these 7 crime types; each fell compared with the year before.
Murder and sexual offences are too small to see at this scale; the table below gives the counts.
Cape Town Central police station (city centre and City Bowl)
Crime type
Count
A year earlier
Murder
7
9
Sexual offences
108
97
Robbery
1,913
2,209
Assault
762
842
Break-ins
188
279
Car crime
2,018
2,521
Theft
3,282
3,733
In the police figures, “break-ins” are break-ins at homes only, and “assault” does not include attempted murder.
Drug offences are not included: police record them when they act, so the count measures police operations.
Do the sources agree?
Mostly. Police figures and street reports went the same way for robbery, break-ins, car crime and theft. They differ on assault: police figures went down (762 vs 842), street reports stayed about the same (5 vs 5). Street reports are too few to compare murder and sexual offences.
Similar areas, 12 months to June 2026
Area
Residents
Violence per 100,000
Break-ins per 1,000 homes
Car crime
Change
Kirstenhof
39,232
507
3.9
166
-18%
Durbanville
104,695
584
6.3
417
-6%
Rondebosch
18,250
592
10.8
325
-4%
Fish Hoek
28,148
597
8.6
151
-10%
Claremont
44,090
610
4.9
469
-2%
Pinelands
26,465
744
5.1
193
-14%
Camps Bay
6,520
1,043
11.9
109
+1%
Mowbray
10,951
1,096
14.4
240
-2%
Hout Bay
58,110
1,160
7.1
94
-8%
Table View
113,454
1,167
7.9
593
+9%
Muizenberg
66,065
1,293
5.9
270
-7%
Sea Point
24,283
1,421
7.3
1,116
+14%
Milnerton
119,996
1,537
7.7
557
0%
Wynberg
27,336
1,606
7.3
283
-12%
Woodstock
23,259
3,242
12.3
726
+1%
Cape Town Central (this area)
38,471
7,252
10.8
2,018
-15%
Similar areas: busy suburbs and coastal areas that people often compare with Cape Town Central. Change: crimes of the seven types against the 12 months before.
Over time
Police statistics · SAPS, Cape Town Central police station (city centre and City Bowl)
Jul–Sep 2021 to Apr–Jun 2026, one point per quarter. The shaded quarters are this page's 12 months.
Murder
Murder: 1 in Apr–Jun 2026, too few to compare with a year earlier (1). Two years earlier: 3.
Sexual offences
Sexual offences: 30 in Apr–Jun 2026, about the same as a year earlier (29). Two years earlier: 18.
Robbery
Robbery: 461 in Apr–Jun 2026, down from 492 a year earlier. Two years earlier: 475.
Assault
Assault: 183 in Apr–Jun 2026, about the same as a year earlier (182). Two years earlier: 145.
Break-ins
Break-ins: 33 in Apr–Jun 2026, down from 51 a year earlier. Two years earlier: 102.
Car crime
Car crime: 541 in Apr–Jun 2026, about the same as a year earlier (549). Two years earlier: 674.
Theft
Theft: 800 in Apr–Jun 2026, about the same as a year earlier (795). Two years earlier: 964.
Street reports (City Bowl Armed Response)
Street reports · City Bowl Armed Response
Jan–Mar 2024 to Apr–Jun 2026, street reports per quarter by crime type.
Street reports: 18 in Apr–Jun 2026, down from 35 a year earlier. Two years earlier: 47.
Since July 2026
Street reports · City Bowl Armed ResponseNews reports
25 street reports since 1 July 2026, not yet in the figures above.
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