Common Assault in South Africa
SAPS definition: “Common Assault is the unlawful and intentional – a) Direct and indirect application of force to the body of another person, or b) Threat of application of immediate personal violence to another, in circumstances in which the threatened person is prevailed upon to believe that the person who is threatening him has the intention and power to carry out his threat.” — SAPS Crime Definitions (2012), as published by the Institute for Security Studies.
SAPS recorded 42,471 common assault cases across South Africa in Apr–Jun 2026, stable vs Apr–Jun 2025.
Latest quarter (Apr–Jun 2026): 42,471 common assault cases, roughly unchanged vs Apr–Jun 2025.
Ranked by province below.
Note: Raw reported counts — not adjusted for population. Provinces with more residents will naturally report more cases.
Is common assault rising or falling in South Africa?
Dashed: Apr–Jun 2026 only (1 of 4 quarters published) — a partial year, not comparable with the full years before it.
Which provinces report the most common assault?
Bars coloured by direction vs the previous year: green = improved, red = worsened, grey = within ±2%. Sorted by Apr–Jun 2026 count.
| Province | Apr–Jun 2026 | vs Apr–Jun 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Gauteng | 10,720 | +2.1% |
| Western Cape | 9,408 | -2% |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 7,723 | +9.5% |
| Eastern Cape | 3,453 | +1.1% |
| Free State | 3,113 | +2.2% |
| North West | 2,599 | -2.2% |
| Limpopo | 2,325 | +5% |
| Mpumalanga | 2,019 | +0.7% |
| Northern Cape | 1,111 | -4.1% |