Victims of crime cite housebreaking as biggest concern, but few pay for protection

Housebreaking is the most common crime experienced by SA households, with increased concern about vehicle hijackings and consumer fraud. But few protect themselves.

Data from Stats SA's "Victims of Crime" report, released on Tuesday, shows:

• 28.8% have installed physical protection measures such as burglar proofing in their homes;
• 8.9% have armed response;
• 2% carry guns; and
• 0.1% have taken self-defence classes.

Half of those surveyed said there was nothing they could do to protect themselves or they did not know what to do, nearly 20% said they did not have money to do something and about 17.5% said the police could deal with it.

Asked what they would first do if they saw a person committing a crime, half said they would call the police, a third would call a neighbour and 7% would call a security service.

About 6% said they would not interfere: they would walk away (4.2%), use a cellphone to record the incident (1%) or watch it being carried out (0.8%).

Data from the Governance, Public Safety and Justice Survey shows housebreaking, home robbery, assault and murder have increased, with KwaZulu-Natal residents most affected by the former.

In 2021/22 about 1.4-million house break-ins occurred, representing 5.4% of households in the country, with 59% of victims saying they reported “some or all incidences” to the police.

This crime peaked in December (146,000) and June (147,000).

About 205,000 home robberies occurred, affecting 155,000 households in 2021/22. The number affected represents 0.9% of those in the country. About 66% of those who experienced home robberies reported “some or all incidences” to the police.

Households that reported murder increased from 11,000 in 2020/21 to 20,000 in 2021/22.

Consumer fraud increased from 493,000 in 2020/21 to 844,000 in 2021/22, with victims mostly women and those living in urban areas.

The number of hijacking victims increased from 64,000 in 2020/21 to 134,000 in 2021/22.

The survey explores experiences and perceptions of crime by South Africans older than 16, how many reported crimes to police and how safe they feel. Police statistics represent crimes reported to and recorded by the SAPS.

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