A survey by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) has revealed a decline in the sense of safety among individuals walking in their neighbourhoods during the day and at night since 2019/20.
This emerged in the Governance, Public Safety, and Justice Survey (GPSJS) 2023/24 released by Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke in Pretoria today.
According to StatsSA, respondents were asked how safe they felt walking in their neighbourhoods alone during the day and when it was dark.
“The sense of safety in the dark among individuals aged 16 and older has declined, dropping from 41,8% in 2019/20 to 34,9% in 2023/24. This trend is particularly pronounced among females, who reported feeling less safe walking in their neighbourhoods after dark compared to males. Additionally, the percentage of people who feel safe walking alone during the day fell from 86,6% in 2019/20 to 84,8% in 2020/21, continuing to decline throughout the reporting period and reaching 80,4% in 2023/24,” said Maluleke.
The survey also revealed that about 40% of individuals aged 16 and older have taken steps to protect themselves from crime, with 33,4% opting to walk only during safer hours to minimise their risk.
Household crimes also increased during the period surveyed, as compared to the previous year.
“The data reveals that housebreaking remains the most prevalent crime affecting households, with approximately 1,1 million households experiencing such incidents. This translates to an estimated 1,5 million incidents of housebreaking, affecting 5,9% of all households in the country. Notably, the rate of housebreaking reports to the police dropped by 7,3 percentage points during the same period,” added Maluleke.
The survey also highlighted that male-headed households and those in metropolitan areas were more likely to be targeted, with incidents peaking in June, September, and December.
More than 209 000 households were impacted by home robbery, which ranks as the second most common crime affecting households.
“An estimated 263 000 incidents were reported, accounting for 1,1% of all households nationwide. Approximately 58% of households that experienced a home robbery reported the crime to the police. In most cases, a gun was used as the primary weapon during the robberies. However, only 7,4% of victims received counselling after the incident,” highlighted the Statistician-General.
Other notable results showed that theft of personal property remains the most frequently reported crime, followed by street robbery and consumer fraud.
Assault incidents have also risen from 263 000 in 2022/23 to 295 000 in 2023/24.
“Victims of assault indicated that knives were predominantly used in these incidents, with nearly 73% resulting in injuries. Only about 2% of assault victims sought counselling afterward. Most perpetrators were known to their victims, including friends or acquaintances (24,7%), spouses or intimate partners (12,6%), and relatives or other household members (8,9%),” said Maluleke.
Other crime categories covered include motor vehicle hijacking, deliberate damage to dwellings, murder, sexual offenses, consumer fraud, psychological violence, and public perceptions of safety and the effectiveness of police and judicial systems.
