Crime Trends & Personal Safety
Crime data shows SA’s murder rate is on the rise according to the latest crime statistics shared by the South African Police Service. Hijackers target these types of vehicles in SA according to police recorded crime statistics.
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The latest crime statistics for South Africa cover the second quarter of the 2021/22 year (July to September 2021).
Overall crime levels decreased slightly over the second quarter, compared to the same period in 2020. However, Covid-19 lockdown levels have had an impact on this.
Continuing the data trend the SAPS established in the first-quarter data, the police ministry compared the second-quarter data to ‘normal’ crime trends recorded in the second quarter of 2019.
Year-on-year trends are essentially incomparable, the SAPS said, as lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic created major shifts in criminal behaviour during those periods.
It is evident from the SAPS’ data that as lockdown restrictions and levels ease, criminal activity increases. The Q2 data in 2021 was captured over lockdown levels 3 and 2, while last year over the same period, lockdown levels were lower, at levels 2 and 1.
Despite these caveats, overall contact crimes were flat, up 1% over the period. Murders were up significantly, however, with 6,163 recorded in Q2, versus 5,107 last year – an increase of 20.7%.
The largest increase was seen in contact-related crimes, which were up 7.4% year on year. The SAPS said this was mainly driven by the July riots in KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng, which led to a 30.2% increase in cases of arson, and a 6.5% increase in cases of malicious damage to property.
Burglary at non-residential premises – the category that the looting of stores would fall under – also saw a sharp increase at 18.7%, reflecting the rampant theft that took place at many shops over the period.
The main changes are outlined below.
SA crime stats: Q2 2020 vs Q2 2021
2020 vs 2021 | Jul-Sep 2020 | Jul-Sep 2021 | Change |
Contact Crimes | 135 821 | 137 145 | +1.0% |
Contact-related Crimes | 26 991 | 28 988 | +7.4% |
Property-related Crimes | 95 516 | 89 576 | -6.2% |
Other Serious Crimes | 93 949 | 94 810 | +0.9% |
Total public reported | 352 277 | 350 519 | -0.5% |
Crime detected as a result of police action | 18 235 | 19 083 | +4.7% |
Total | 370 512 | 369 602 | -0.2% |
- Contact crimes include murder, attempted murder and sexual offences, as well as common assault and robbery.
- Contact-related crimes include arson and malicious injury to property.
- Other serious crimes include commercial crime, shop-lifting, and other types of theft – while aggravated robbery includes hijackings, robbery at residences, and cash-in-transit heists and bank robberies.
- Crimes detected as a result of police action cover crimes discovered by active policing, such as roadblocks and raids. This category covers the illegal possession of firearms, DUI or driving under the influence (of drugs or alcohol), and the use, possession or trade of illegal drugs.
Biggest increases in crime categories for 1Q21
Category | Jul-Sep 2020 | Jul-Sep 2021 | Change |
Arson | 986 | 1 284 | +30.2% |
Murder | 5 107 | 6 163 | +20.7% |
Burglary at non-residential premises | 15 881 | 18 776 | +18.2% |
Commercial crime | 21 987 | 24 613 | +11.9% |
Malicious injury to property | 26 005 | 27 704 | +6.5% |
Sexual Offences | 11 423 | 11 964 | +4.7% |
Attempted murder | 4 941 | 5 157 | +4.4% |
Drug-related crime | 29 094 | 30 224 | +3.9% |
Carjacking | 4 803 | 4 973 | +3.5% |
All theft not mentioned elsewhere | 58 154 | 59 671 | +2.6% |
Assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm | 34 890 | 35 625 | +2.1% |
Common assault | 36 851 | 37 137 | +0.8% |
Bank robbery | 1 | 1 | 0.0% |
Truck hijacking | 411 | 410 | -0.2% |
Robbery at non-residential premises | 4 937 | 4 867 | -1.4% |
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs | 7 828 | 7 649 | -2.3% |
Common robbery | 9 864 | 9 619 | -2.5% |
Sexual offences discovered as result of police action | 1 568 | 1 522 | -2.9% |
Robbery with aggravating circumstances | 32 745 | 31 480 | -3.9% |
Robbery at residential premises | 5 760 | 5 372 | -6.7% |
Illegal possession of firearms and ammunition | 3 631 | 3 355 | -7.6% |
Burglary at residential premises | 39 304 | 35 949 | -8.5% |
Stock-theft | 7 339 | 6 663 | -9.2% |
Theft of motor vehicle and motorcycle | 10 146 | 8 721 | -14.0% |
Theft out of or from motor vehicle | 22 846 | 19 467 | -14.8% |
Robbery of cash in transit | 64 | 52 | -18.8% |
Shoplifting | 13 808 | 10 526 | -23.8% |
Comparing Q2 to Q2 data from 2019, the crime picture changes significantly for the better, with most crime categories showing a decline.
Stand-out increases are murders, which are up 13.2% compared to 2019, as well as truck hijackings and arson, again related to civil unrest over the 2021 period.
Read Also: These Cars Are At High Risk Of Theft In SA
Article Credit to BusinessTech Lifestyle.
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