Contact crimes – including murder and attempted murder– have decreased in the Western Cape, according to the latest quarterly crime statistics.

Murder dropped by 5.5% year on year between April and June, police said at a briefing on Wednesday. Attempted murder decreased by 6.7% in the same period.

Between April and June, 939 people were murdered in the Western Cape. There were 1 473 cases of attempted murder throughout the province.

The top causative factor for murders was gang violence (17.6%) followed by arguments, misunderstandings, road rage, and provocation (16.6%).

Attempted murder cases were also driven by gang violence, accounting for 30.2% of all cases.

Almost two-thirds of all murders took place in public places, while just under half of all attempted murders were recorded in public places.

The Delft police precinct recorded the highest number of murder cases for the quarter, with 61 cases opened. Gugulethu recorded 59 murders, Harare recorded 58, Nyanga recorded 48, and Khayelitsha recorded 47. All of these stations are featured on the national top 30 list.

The stations that recorded the highest number of attempted murder cases were Mitchells Plain (46 cases), Nyanga (35), Worcester (32), Delft (30), and Manenberg (30).

The province experienced an apparent decrease in mass murders, provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile said.

There were 32 cases with two victims each, six cases with three victims each, and one case with four victims. There was also a case in which six people were killed.

Premier Alan Winde said the decrease in violent crimes was encouraging and that the province was exploring ways to address crime in the province.

"We must never be scared to change our model, to try new things. We must make sure there are consequences. People must know if you shoot a police officer or citizen, there are consequences," he said.

Provincial community policing forum chairperson Fransina Lukas said she was encouraged by the continued reduction in crime.

"But we will only see actual success when people feel safe in their homes and in their streets," she said.