It said gangsters were responsible for 16% of murders and 39% of attempted murders recorded in the last financial year.

Areas contributing to these figures included Elsies River, Mitchells Plain, Manenberg, Atlantis, Steenberg and Bishop Lavis.

Police believed that confiscating almost 1 300 firearms and a “substantial amount of drugs” would assist in reducing gang violence.

The police vowed to do all they could to make the province safer.

The province saw an overall 7% increase in crimes against a person (contact crimes), with more cases registered for murder, attempted murder, assaults and robberies.

Sexual offence cases decreased by 5% according to figures released in Parliament on Tuesday.

Acting provincial police commissioner Major General Thembisile Patekile believed interventions already in place were yielding “positive results” in places such as Khayelitsha and Manenberg.

“Similar interventions introduced in Nyanga and Mitchells Plain are expected to bear fruit soon.”

The police would consult with different roleplayers to find “lasting solutions” to crime.