This small Winelands town is rebuilding after a year of crime

The Cape Winelands has had an abysmal first quarter in crime statistics, breaking several records.

But a small village near Robertson is turning the tide.

Crime is down, and property investment is up.

McGregor, the safest town on the Cape Winelands

McGregor, about a 2-hour drive from Cape Town and nestled in the Riviersonderend mountains, is reversing a four-year crime spree that plagued the town.

Crime in McGregor is down 15.5% in the first quarter, according to the South African Police Service (SAPS) crime statistics.

For the year ending March 2026, crime is down 31%.

Currently, the town has reported the fewest crimes of any Cape Winelands police precinct.

Crime in McGregor, a town of 7 296 people, peaked in 2022.

That year, the town’s crime rate was 6.27%. Today, it’s 4.27%. It could potentially improve to 3.89% after this year’s data.

Crime decreasing in the Cape Winelands is rare. The latest data shows 16 of the 23 police precincts have deteriorated.

The worst offender, with the largest jump in crime, is Touws River. In 3 months, crime increased by 71.4%.

Franschhoek follows with a 56.3% increase in crime.

McGregor, however, had the biggest improvement in its crime stats for the three months ending June 2026.

Crime statistics haven’t always looked this good.

Between 2022 and 2024, crime in the town was high. Property crime made up about one-third of the annual stats.

But by 2025, crime had dropped 31.8% from the previous year, reaching levels last seen in 2017.

If McGregor continues the positive trajectory, crime could drop to levels the town hasn’t experienced in the last 10 years.

Yet, all of this progress could change in an instant if the mountainside town doesn’t get its drug problem under control.

Nearly one third of the crimes recorded in three months are drug-related.

These crimes also tend to fester beneath the surface.

For every 1 drug-related crime that is recorded and reported in the system, any number go unreported.

Some suggest the crime could be as underreported as drunk driving offences. Typically, a drunk driver will drive under the influence 80 times before being caught.

Drugs also breed violence, as reported in the European Drug Report, because users develop dependencies and suppliers fight over territory.

Property in McGregor

McGregor’s property market remains resilient.

Despite the average sale price dropping 25% since the start of the year, the small town is experiencing a boom in demand.

So far this year, the Western Cape Deeds Office has recorded 50 property sales in the area.

The average sale price among these is R2 million.

Last year, when sale prices peaked at R2.7 million, the town only recorded 38 sales.

With demand increasing, McGregor hasn’t been able to replenish its supply. About half as many homes are on the market today as there were this time last year.