Stats SA says fewer South Africans are reporting certain crimes to police, with many victims citing a belief that officers will not be able to help.
There has been a decline in housebreaking and theft of personal property in South Africa, according to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).
However, concerns remain about whether official crime figures fully reflect the reality on the ground, as many South Africans choose not to report crimes they experience to the South African Police Service (SAPS).
Unlike SAPS’s quarterly crime statistics, which are based on cases reported at police stations, Stats SA’s research looks at victims of crime regardless of whether they reported the incidents to police.
Speaking to Phemelo Motene on Kaya 959’s Point of View, Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke explained the difference between the two sets of figures.
“The crime statistics released by the police annually are official as delegated by the Statistician-General. However, they only deal with crime stats as reported to their police station, whereas in our case, we have reached out to thousands of households representing rural areas, urban areas, townships, farms, suburbs and informal settlements,” said Maluleke.
He said Stats SA’s research focuses on all victims of crime, including those who did not report their experiences to police.
Are South Africans reluctant to report crime?
Maluleke says the country recorded a significant number of housebreaking incidents, but less than half were reported to police.
“We had about 1.5 million incidents of housebreaking which affected more than one million households nationally, meaning some households have experienced housebreaking more than once. Only 48% of the cases were reported to the police,” he said.
In comparison, 94% of murder incidents were reported to police, while 78% of sexual offences and 69% of motor vehicle theft cases were reported.
Maluleke says the difference in reporting rates could be linked to how victims perceive the seriousness of different crimes and the likelihood of receiving assistance.
He says murder is particularly shocking to households, while victims of vehicle theft often report cases because they hope their cars will be recovered or need a police case number for insurance purposes.
When it comes to sexual offences, Maluleke says an increase in reporting could indicate that more victims are moving away from the stigma traditionally associated with these crimes.
However, he says many South Africans still believe that some crimes are not serious enough to report.
“When it comes to individual experiences of crime, we look at theft of personal property, street robbery and hijacking, which is different from car theft. With theft of personal property, we speak about when your cellphone, jewellery or wallet has been stolen – the stats show that this was the highest, with 1.4 million incidents, yet only 37% were reported,” he said.
Why aren’t victims reporting crime?
Maluleke says one of the biggest reasons victims give for not reporting crime is a lack of confidence that police will be able to assist them.
“When we ask the victims why they are not reporting, in most cases they report that police would not do anything about it, and others said police could not do anything or there was a lack of proof,” he added.
This raises concerns about the number of crimes that may go unrecorded in official police statistics.
Do South Africans feel safe?
Stats SA’s findings also point to declining perceptions of safety in communities.
Maluleke says most South Africans, particularly women, do not feel safe walking in their neighbourhoods at night.
He says there has also been a decline in the proportion of people who feel safe walking around their neighbourhoods during the day.
“People in Limpopo felt much safer walking during the day in their neighbourhood in comparison to the Western Cape. Limpopo recorded the highest level of safety. In the rural provinces, people felt a lot safer walking during the day and at night,” he said.
Gauteng, meanwhile, recorded a lower percentage of people who felt safe, including when walking in their neighbourhoods during the day.
Maluleke says the findings highlight the importance of looking beyond official crime statistics to understand how South Africans experience crime and safety in their everyday lives.
Listen to the podcast for the full conversation.
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