The Western Cape continues to boast unnervingly high gang-related murders.

According to the quarterly crime statistics, the Western Cape recorded 166 of the 193 gang-related murders nationally. The high violence rate comes despite the province seeing a 5.5 percent reduction in the murder rate.

MEC for Police Oversight and Community Safety, Reagen Allen says a number of areas including Mitchells Plain, Gugulethu, Khayelitsha and Harare remain a big concern.

Allen adds that the reduction in the overall provincial murder rate is due to the rollout of the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers on the ground in respective hotspot areas.