Cape Town - Approximately 1.4 million houses were broken into in the last 12 months, affecting 983 000 households across South Africa, according to figures released by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA).
The Governance, Public Safety and Justice Survey (GPSJS) Victims of Crime report by StatsSA has revealed that South Africans are reporting more household crimes than before.
On Tuesday, Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke presented the report, disclosing that while StatsSA had recorded a jarring increase in household crimes across the board, more South Africans had taken to reporting and notifying police of criminal incidents they were victims of.
The GPSJS report was based on household crimes inclusive of housebreaking, home robberies, the theft of motor vehicles, murder, assault and sexual offences households experienced over the last five years.
The data collected by StatsSA was recorded in the last 12 months.
Briefing the media on the findings, Maluleke said the noticeable increase in household crimes in 2021/22 compared with 2020/21 was also down to the restrictions put in place by the national government after the outbreak of the coronavirus in 2020.
Housebreaking, according to StatsSA, was one of the most common crimes experienced by households.
“While the number of affected households represents only 5.4% of households in the country, almost 60% of those households reported some or all incidences to the police. Same with home robberies, which was the second most common crime households experienced.”
Maluleke said StatsSA recorded an estimated 205 000 incidences of home robberies in 2021/22. And 155 000 households were impacted.
“While the number of affected households represents only 0.9% of all households in the country, 66% of these households reported some or all incidences to the police,” he said.
The GPSJS, however, also recorded a decrease in the reporting of stolen motor vehicles in 2021/22. In its report, StatsSA said 42 000 households experienced theft of motor vehicles. While it was less than 1% of all households, about 57% reported some or all incidences to the police, a 33.8% decrease compared with last year.
Earlier this year, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) released the findings of a survey on trends in police confidence since the late 1990s, which showed that as of last year, confidence in police was at an all-tiem low.
Senior research specialist at the HSRC, Dr Steven Gordon, who co-authored the study, said: “While our survey touches on similar work as StatsSA, I cannot speak on the report without studying its findings. However, what I can say is that trust in the police is at an all-time low.”
StatsSA also surveyed households on assault. Approximately 99 000 households confirmed that they experienced assault in 2021/22. StatsSA also recorded a spike in cases where households experienced consumer fraud.
According to its report consumer fraud increased from 493 000 in 2020/21 to 844 000 in 2021/22.
“Women and persons living in urban areas accounted for the majority of consumer fraud victims, while the percentage of individuals who reported some or all incidences to the police increased from 41.3% in 2020/21 to 44.2% in 2021/22,” Maluleke said.
“We also recorded that about 81% of the population feels safe when walking alone in their neighbourhood during the day as opposed to 36% who felt safe walking alone in their neighbourhood during the night. Both figures decreased from 2020/21.”