The Western Cape’s crime landscape is changing.
In one year, crime in small towns like Touws River and Darling nearly doubled.
On the flip side, some parts of the Cape Flats, plagued by gangsterism and drugs, have experienced a downturn in crime.
But in the Winelands, one town is reeling from a spike in crime.
Farm Town Murders
Enter Franschhoek. The picture-perfect town, with its rich history and character, could fall victim to a common culprit: drugs.
Over three months, crime in Franschhoek rose 56.3%.
The most common crimes over that period were drug-related, theft, and assault.
But there has also been a sharp rise in murder.
The most recent data from the South African Police Service (SAPS), which examines crime records from April to June 2026, shows there were 14 murders recorded in Franschhoek.
That’s the same number of murders in a town of roughly 29 000 people as in Manenberg, a notoriously gang-ridden part of the Cape Flats that has 56 198 residents.
Over the same period in 2025, there were only 3 murders recorded in Franschhoek.
But what’s behind the sharp rise in Franschhoek’s murders?
Franschhoek’s murders are a result of a worrying pattern of increasing crime in Franschhoek.
In the year ending March 2026, crime in Franschhoek had increased by 59.8%.
During that year, there were 80 more common assaults than the year before, totalling 220 common assaults over 12 months.
Drug-related crime rose by 94 incidents.
In the year ending March 2025, Franschhoek only reported 109 drug-related crimes.
But by March 2026, the town recorded 203 such incidents.
In fact, last year, Franschhoek reported more crimes than at any point since SAPS started reporting on this data.
Crime last reached these levels in the year ending March 2019.
That year, the town reported 1 261 crimes, a record at the time.
However, that record was shattered in 2025.
In the year ending March 2026, the wine farm town recorded 1 358 crimes, up 7.7% since its peak.
Cape Wine Farms Under Seige
Neighbouring Stellenbosch has also seen an increase in drug-related crime.
Over the same period that Franschhoek recorded 72 such crimes, Stellenbosch recorded 212.
These crimes had increased by 21.8% compared to the same period in 2025.
However, the Stellenbosch police precinct has a higher population than Franschhoek.
According to 2022 census data, the Franschhoek police precinct had a population of 28 603.
Stellenbosch has a population of 66 840.
Additionally, crime in Stellenbosch is trending downward.
That isn’t the case for another Cape Winelands town: Wellington.
In Wellington, crime is up 12.4% year-over-year.
The town has also experienced a 45.2% rise in drug-related crime between April and June 2026.
Despite having roughly the same population as Stellenbosch, Wellington recorded the second sharpest rise in drug-related crime in the Cape Winelands.
Only beaten by Tulbagh.
In fact, only 6 police precincts across 23 in the Cape Winelands recorded a drop in drug-related crime. These are:
- Paarl: -6.9%
- Cloetesville: -6.9%
- Rawsonville: -4%
- De Doorns: -3.8%
- Bonnievale: -61.9%
- Groot Drakenstein: -46.1%
Instead, the Cape Winelands is breaking records for drug-related crime.
In three months, the municipality recorded more drug-related crimes than it did in an entire year last year.
For the year ending March 2026, the municipality recorded 2 311 such crimes.
Between April and June 2026, it recorded 2 797 drug-related crimes.
Worcester contributed the most to this total. Over the three months, the town recorded 604 crimes.
In many towns across the Winelands, this rise in drug-related crimes has correlated with a rise in murders and burglaries.
Murder is breaking records in the Winelands.
Last year, the area recorded 81 murders.
In the first quarter of this year, it recorded 95 murders.
There’s also been a correlation between drug-related crimes and residential burglaries.
In towns like Worcester and Franschhoek, where there has been a substantial increase in drug-related crimes, there has been an increase in the number of residential burglaries.