By: Natasha Archary
More than a million houses were broken into over the past 12-months, according to Stats SA. The latest data comes from the Governance, Public Safety and Justice Survey (GPSJS) 2021/22 which reveals the sharp increase in household crimes in the country.
An estimated 1.4 million incidences of house break-ins occurred, affecting 983 000 households over the past year. The number of affected households represents 5.4% of all households in the country.
Almost 60% of households where break-ins occurred reported the incidents to SAPS.
An estimated 205 000 incidences of home invasions occurred, affecting 155 00 households in 2021/22.
According to the statistics, 42 000 households experienced theft of motor vehicles.
Furthermore, most of the house break-ins were experienced by female-headed households and households in rural areas.
Break-ins peaked in June, where 147 000 houses were targeted.
The provinces that ranked the highest for house break-ins were KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng with 204 000 reports.
| PROVINCE | ABSOLUTE NUMBER OF HOUSEBREAKINGS |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 255 000 |
| Gauteng | 204 000 |
| Western Cape | 116 000 |
| Eastern Cape | 105 000 |
| North West | 102 000 |
| Mpumalanga | 72 000 |
| Limpopo | 64 000 |
| Free State | 44 000 |
| Northern Cape | 21 000 |
Source: Stats SA




