MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                                                                                       03 October  2019

Victims of crime report 2018/19

Statistics South Africa today released the Victims of Crime report, extracted from the Governance, Public Safety and Justice survey( GPSJS). The 2018/19 crime report revealed that the percentage of victims of sexual offence who reported at least one incident is 88%. This is a dramatic increase from 73% in 2017/18.

According to the report, incidences of deliberate damage of residential property and arson, theft of personal property and street robbery increased in 2018/19 compared to 2017/18. There were about 70 000 incidences of deliberate damage of residential property and arson in 2018/19. This crime affected 0.32% of households in South Africa. Female-headed households in the metropolitan areas were the most likely to be victims of such crime.

The Western Cape had the highest (1,9%) percentage of people aged 16 and above who were victims of street robbery compared to other provinces. The weapons used for street robbery were knives (62%) and guns (37%).

In 2018/19 there were about 1,2 million incidences of theft of personal property affecting 2,5% of people aged 16 or older in South Africa. The most likely victims of this crime were males, white, young adults and people living in the Western Cape and Gauteng. The GPSJS estimates of the number of victims who reported to the police are in agreement with SAPS data

The number of incidences for all other crime types remained more or less the same as last year. This includes housebreaking, home robbery, hijacking, car theft, murder and assault. There were about 1,3 million incidences of housebreaking affecting 5,8% of households in South Africa. The most likely victims of housebreaking were male-headed households, households in metros, Indian/Asian households followed by White households, very low and very high income households, households in the Northern Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. About 48% of affected households reported to the police.

An estimated 12 000 murders were committed in 2018/19 affecting about 0.07% of households in South Africa. All affected households reported to the police. According to SAPS data there were 32 000 murders during the same period. The main reason for the huge gap between GPSJS estimates of murder and SAPS statistics is that GPSJS estimates are based of murders that are known to households. SAPS handle murders that may not be known to households such as murders of homeless people, immigrants, temporary visitors and gang related murders.

The survey showed that in 2018/19 there were about 260 000 incidences of home robberies affecting about 1% of all households in South Africa. The most likely victims of home robbery were households in metros, White-headed households, and households headed by young adults. The most common weapons used in home robbery were guns (54%) and knives (47%). About 60% of households reported one or more incidences of home robbery to the police.

In 2018/19 there were about 32 000 incidences of hijacking of motor vehicles. This includes hijacking of trucks. About 0,08% of individuals aged 16 and older were hijacked. About 85% of all hijackings were reported to the police.

In 2018/19 there were about 500 000 incidences of assault experienced by 0,7% of individuals aged 16 or above. The most likely victims of assault were males and young adults. About 50% of victims of assault reported to the police.

The report further shows an increase in percentages of people who felt safe walking alone in their areas during the night from 32% in 2017/18 to 35% in 2018/19. Males felt safer both  during the day and at night (greater percentage of males felt safer). Rural (24%) people felt safer than urban (15%) and people in metros (8%) during the day. About 45% of the people in metros felt unsafe at night compared to urban people (42%) and rural people (39%).

For technical enquires Contact:

Kenneth Chatindiara

Tel: (012) 310 4714

Email: KennethC@statssa.gov.za

For media enquiries contact:

Felicia Sithole

Tel: (012) 337 2401

Cell: 076 430 0693

Email: felicias@statssa.gov.za