According to data from the South African Police Service (SAPS), Phoenix is KwaZulu-Natal’s car theft capital, taking the crown from Chatsworth.
In the first quarter, 99 cars were stolen.
That’s 35.6% higher than the same period in 2025.
Car thefts are up, but overall crime is down
Between April and June 2026, the Chatsworth police precinct had 98 car thefts, a decline of 20.3%.
But that allowed Phoenix to become KwaZulu-Natal’s new car theft capital in the first quarter, beating Chatsworth by 1 car theft.
In Phoenix, only car thefts had double-digit increases. But murder and business burglary also rose.
There were 4 more murders in Phoenix, reaching 9 between April and June 2026, up from 5 over the same period in 2026.
Business burglaries rose from 14 in 2025 to 22 in 2026.
But that’s where the bad news ends for Phoenix.
In the first quarter, the police precinct achieved a 9.2% decrease in crime.
Residential burglary dropped 53% in the first quarter, the highest of any police precinct.
Aggravated robbery also saw a substantial decline, dropping 15.3% in the first quarter.
Fewer assaults and serious assaults were recorded in Phoenix, dropping 11.7% and 10.1%, respectively.
Crime in Chatsworth
Crime is also down in Chatsworth. In the first quarter, it dropped 9%.
The police precinct is slowly rebuilding after crime peaked in 2024.
Theft from motor vehicles also dropped in the former car theft capital.
However, the decline was nominal, as incidents dropped to 43 from 45 a year earlier.
Residential burglaries rose 4.1% in the first quarter, as did drug-related crime, which rose 14.6%.
Chatsworth currently holds the second spot in KwaZulu-Natal for drug-related crimes recorded in the first quarter of 2026.
Plessislaer in the uMgungundlovu District Municipality takes the top spot, with a 9.2% rise in such crime, and Phoenix drops to third with an 11.3% drop in drug-related crime.