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Newtown

Johannesburg, Gauteng

What official and community-mapped data says about Newtown: recorded crime for its police precinct, its school profile, nearby amenities, and minibus taxi access. Johannesburg profiles do not yet carry a StreetSignal safety index; theJohannesburg methodology pageexplains what is published now and why.

Recorded crime in the JHB Central precinct

SAPS publishes crime figures for police precincts, not suburbs.Newtown is assigned to the JHB Central precinct, whose figures cover this suburb and 5other suburbs. These are precinct totals, not measurements of Newtown alone, and there is no per-suburb safety index for Johannesburg yet.

Recorded crime by category for the JHB Central precinct, January 2026 to March 2026
CategoryJanuary 2026 to March 2026Five-year quarterly trend
Commercial crime254212 > 216 > 222 > 185 > 254
Robbery with aggravating circumstances235317 > 371 > 358 > 310 > 235
All theft not mentioned elsewhere182235 > 299 > 255 > 199 > 182
Assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm147128 > 135 > 130 > 134 > 147
Common robbery137247 > 261 > 166 > 160 > 137
Theft out of or from motor vehicle96197 > 208 > 160 > 107 > 96
Common assault87193 > 201 > 210 > 115 > 87
Shoplifting87116 > 118 > 104 > 84 > 87
Theft of motor vehicle and motorcycle6280 > 91 > 45 > 46 > 62
Attempted murder5734 > 27 > 31 > 36 > 57
Malicious damage to property5087 > 70 > 49 > 48 > 50
Burglary at non-residential premises4784 > 142 > 72 > 49 > 47
Kidnapping4340 > 39 > 39 > 63 > 43
Robbery at non-residential premises2661 > 44 > 37 > 32 > 26
Murder2435 > 30 > 90 > 28 > 24
Rape2325 > 24 > 21 > 24 > 23
Carjacking1219 > 26 > 21 > 34 > 12
Burglary at residential premises1122 > 33 > 29 > 21 > 11
Crimen injuria63 > 2 > 5 > 6 > 6
Sexual assault48 > 5 > 10 > 9 > 4
Robbery at residential premises33 > 11 > 5 > 5 > 3
Culpable homicide23 > 8 > 1 > 5 > 2
Truck hijacking26 > 1 > 2 > 1 > 2
Robbery of cash in transit21 > 0 > 1 > 1 > 2
Neglect and ill-treatment of children17 > 3 > 4 > 2 > 1
Arson10 > 0 > 2 > 0 > 1
Attempted sexual offences10 > 0 > 0 > 1 > 1

Trend columns show the January to March quarter for each year from 2022 to 2026 (like-for-like quarters). Source: SAPS quarterly crime statistics. SAPS section totals and police-action categories (drug crime, driving under the influence, illegal firearms) are excluded: totals double-count their components, and police-action figures track police effort rather than residential victimisation. Precinct assignment uses StreetSignal's own station-catchment construction, which can differ from official precinct boundaries; see themethodology.

Schools in Newtown

4
schools (DBE EMIS)
0
no-fee schools
17.3
learners per educator
85.7%
of 21 candidates passed matric in 2025

Quintile mix: N/A: 3, Q4: 1 (quintile 1 serves the lowest-income communities, quintile 5 the highest).

  • MAHARISHI INVINCIBILITY SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT INDEPENDENT SCHOOL (secondary school)
  • WHITESTONE COLLEGE (combined school, 2025 matric 85.7% of 21)
  • FERREIRA PRIMARY SCHOOL (primary school)
  • MBOWA COLLEGE (combined school)

What this matric figure is. National Senior Certificate results from the Department of Basic Education's 2025 School Performance Report, covering the one school here that presented candidates, so it describes that school rather than the suburb. Each school is weighted by its candidate numbers. It is the share of those who wrote the exams and passed — learners who left school before Grade 12 are not counted in it, so it does not show how many children here finish school.

Amenities near Newtown

Community-mapped facilities from OpenStreetMap, measured straight-line from the suburb centre. Mapping completeness varies by area, so these are minimum counts of what has been mapped, not a full inventory.

Sport and recreation
1 within 1 km, 409 within 5 km
Nearest: Die Hoek kondisionerings sentrum (1.7 km)
Retail
65 within 1 km, 316 within 5 km
Nearest: Bree Street Butchery (0.2 km)
Food and drink
38 within 1 km, 215 within 5 km
Nearest: Nikis Oasis (0.3 km)
Transport stops
37 within 1 km, 208 within 5 km
Nearest: CitySightseeing - Stop 9 - Newtown (0.1 km)
Education facilities
4 within 1 km, 116 within 5 km
Nearest: Vector College (0.8 km)
Parks and green space
10 within 1 km, 85 within 5 km
Nearest: Beyers Naudé Square (0.5 km)
Banks and ATMs
25 within 1 km, 81 within 5 km
Nearest: South Africa Reserve Bank / Suid Afrikaanse Reserwebank (0.1 km)
Fuel stations
7 within 1 km, 81 within 5 km
Nearest: Astron Energy (0.2 km)
Supermarkets
7 within 1 km, 72 within 5 km
Nearest: Cambridge Food (0.3 km)
Places of worship
2 within 1 km, 52 within 5 km
Nearest: Kerk Street Mosque (Jumu'ah Masjid) (0.4 km)
Healthcare
3 within 1 km, 50 within 5 km
Nearest: Surgery (0.3 km)
Pharmacies
5 within 1 km, 19 within 5 km
Nearest: Jozi Pharmacy (0.2 km)
Police and emergency
2 within 1 km, 17 within 5 km
Nearest: Johannesburg Central Police Station (0.3 km)
Civic facilities
2 within 1 km, 14 within 5 km
Nearest: Johannesburg City Library (0.4 km)
Waste and recycling
0 within 1 km, 2 within 5 km
Nearest: danger junkie yard and recycling (6.7 km)

Minibus taxi access

58
taxi facilities within 2 km
80
within 5 km

Nearest facility: Johannesburg(0.3 km, formal). Destinations served include Newclare, Greymond, Claremont, Braamfontien, Slovoville, Industria West.

Source: CSIR Gauteng taxi facility survey (2024). Distances are straight-line from the suburb centre. A lighting value is recorded for a minority of facilities only; where it is absent, lighting was not surveyed. Destination names are verbatim survey entries.

Where this data comes from

  • Crime: SAPS quarterly crime statistics (precinct level, latest quarter January 2026 to March 2026).
  • Schools: Department of Basic Education EMIS masterlist, Gauteng, Q3 2025.
  • Amenities and suburb boundaries: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via the Overpass API.
  • Minibus taxi facilities: CSIR Gauteng taxi facility survey, 2024.

Full method, limitations, and citations:Johannesburg methodology. Attribution for every source: data attribution.