JOHANNESBURG - Overall reported crime in South Africa continued its gradual downward trend, according to crime statistics for 2007/2008 released yesterday by the Minister of Safety and Security, Charles Nqakula. There were decreases reported in most categories of crimes including murder, attempted murder, assault, common robbery, house burglary, street robbery, arson, and malicious damage to property (see Table 1.).
However, crimes affecting businesses and businessman, and the middle classes more generally, continued with their upward trajectory. Carjacking increased by 4,4% year on year, truck hijacking by 39,6%, bank robberies by 11,6%, robbery at residential premises by 13,5%, robbery at business premises by 47,4%, and burglary at non-residential premises by 7,8%. Cash-in-transit heists are down this year by 15,4% (see Table 2.)
Due to the changes in the definition of rape and sexual assault the figures for these crimes are not strictly comparable with last year.
The crime analysis report [PDF] released with the statistics noted that some forty percent of all carjackings, house robberies, and business robberies, are recorded at just 41, 41, and 40 of the 1,115 police stations in the country respectively. In other words, the occurrence of these crimes is extremely concentrated. Carjackings and house robberies are more likely to occur in the more affluent suburbs. Business and street robberies are more likely to occur in central business districts and their surrounds. See Table 3.
The report notes that "carjackings and house robberies most frequently occur in the more affluent suburbs of Gauteng such as Sandton, Honeydew, Douglasdale, Brooklyn and Garsfontein." House robbers usually "strike at night when they know people would tend to be at home." Indeed, 86,4% of this kind of robbery occurred at night: 15,9% of these attacks took place between 6pm and 9pm, 23% between 9pm and 12pm, 32% between 12pm and 3am, and 15,5% between 3am and 5am. According to the report most of these robberies "are committed by small groups of unemployed youths with the main purpose [being] to obtain cash to spend on their expensive lifestyles."
A full 43,7% of carjackings occured between 6pm and 9pm. The report states, "At least 70% of carjackings occurred at the gates to or on the driveways of residences and these are in a number of instances closely associated with robberies at residential premises."
The report notes that one of the reasons extreme violence does occasionally occur during house robberies is "because the crimes are usually committed at places where it is less likely for bystanders or eyewitnesses to intervene."
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Table 1: Reported crime in South Africa 2001/2002 to 2006/2007 |
|
| |||||||
|
Crime category |
2001/02 |
2002/03 |
2003/04 |
2004/05 |
2005/06 |
2006/07 |
2007/08 |
Inc/Dec |
% |
|
Murder |
21405 |
21553 |
19824 |
18793 |
18528 |
19202 |
18,487 |
-715 |
-3.9% |
|
Attempted murder |
31293 |
35861 |
30076 |
24516 |
20571 |
20142 |
18,795 |
-1347 |
-7.2% |
|
Assault with the intent to inflict GBH |
264012 |
266321 |
260082 |
249369 |
226942 |
218030 |
210,104 |
-7926 |
-3.8% |
|
Common assault |
261886 |
282526 |
280942 |
267857 |
227553 |
210057 |
198,049 |
-12008 |
-6.1% |
|
Robbery with aggravating circumstances |
116736 |
126905 |
133658 |
126789 |
119726 |
126558 |
118,312 |
-8246 |
-7.0% |
|
Common robbery |
90205 |
101537 |
95551 |
90825 |
74723 |
71156 |
64,985 |
-6171 |
-9.5% |
|
Arson |
8739 |
9186 |
8806 |
8184 |
7622 |
7858 |
7,396 |
-462 |
-6.2% |
|
Malicious damage to property |
145451 |
157070 |
158247 |
150785 |
144265 |
143336 |
136968 |
-6368 |
-4.6% |
|
Residential burglaries |
302657 |
319984 |
299290 |
276164 |
262535 |
249665 |
237853 |
-11812 |
-5.0% |
|
Business burglaries |
87114 |
73975 |
64629 |
56048 |
54367 |
58438 |
62995 |
4557 |
7.2% |
|
Vehicle theft |
96859 |
93133 |
88144 |
83857 |
85964 |
86298 |
80226 |
-6072 |
-7.6% |
|
Thefts from cars |
199282 |
195896 |
171982 |
148512 |
139090 |
124029 |
111661 |
-12368 |
-11.1% |
|
Stock-theft |
41635 |
46680 |
41273 |
32675 |
28742 |
28828 |
28778 |
-50 |
-0.2% |
|
Other theft |
576 676 |
620 240 |
606460 |
536281 |
432629 |
415163 |
395296 |
-19867 |
-5.0% |
|
Commercial crime |
58462 |
56232 |
55869 |
53931 |
54214 |
61690 |
65286 |
3596 |
5.5% |
|
Shoplifting |
68404 |
69005 |
71888 |
66525 |
64491 |
65489 |
66992 |
1503 |
2.2% |
|
Illegal possession of firearms and ammunition |
15 494 |
15839 |
16839 |
15497 |
13453 |
14354 |
13476 |
-878 |
-6.5% |
|
Drug-related crime |
52900 |
53810 |
62689 |
84001 |
95690 |
104689 |
109134 |
4445 |
4.1% |
|
Driving under influence |
24553 |
22144 |
24886 |
29927 |
33116 |
38261 |
48405 |
10144 |
21.0% |
|
Culpable Homicide |
10944 |
11202 |
11096 |
11995 |
12415 |
12871 |
13184 |
313 |
2.4% |
|
Kidnapping |
4433 |
3071 |
3004 |
2618 |
2320 |
2345 |
2323 |
-22 |
-0.9% |
|
Abduction |
3132 |
4219 |
4044 |
3880 |
3345 |
3217 |
2728 |
-489 |
-17.9% |
|
Child neglect and abuse |
2648 |
4798 |
6504 |
5568 |
4828 |
4258 |
4106 |
-152 |
-3.7% |
|
Public violence |
907 |
1049 |
979 |
974 |
1044 |
1023 |
895 |
-128 |
-14.3% |
|
Crimen injuria |
60919 |
63717 |
59908 |
55929 |
44512 |
36747 |
33064 |
-3683 |
-11.1% |
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Table 2: Robberies with aggravating circumstances | |||||
|
Category |
2005/06 |
2006/07 |
2007/08 |
Inc/Dec |
% |
|
Street robbery |
91070 |
92021 |
77984 |
-14037 |
-18.0% |
|
Car hijacking |
12825 |
13599 |
14201 |
602 |
4.2% |
|
Truck hijacking |
829 |
892 |
1245 |
353 |
28.4% |
|
Cash-in-transit heists |
383 |
467 |
395 |
-72 |
-18.2% |
|
Bank robbery |
59 |
129 |
144 |
15 |
10.4% |
|
Home robbery |
10173 |
12761 |
14481 |
1720 |
11.9% |
|
Business robbery |
4387 |
6689 |
9862 |
3173 |
32.2% |
|
Total |
119726 |
126558 |
118,312 |
-8246 |
-7.0% |
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Table 3: Twenty police precincts with highest recorded incidents of aggravated robberies (various) | |||
|
Street robbery |
House robbery |
Carjacking |
Business Robbery |
|
Durban Central (KZN) |
Sandton (GP) |
Booysens (GP) |
Jhb Central (GP) |
|
Jhb Central (GP) |
Honeydew (GP) |
Pinetown (KZN) |
Durban Central (KZN) |
|
Hillbrow (GP) |
Tembisa (GP) |
Umlazi (KZN) |
Pinetown (KZN) |
|
Mitchells Plain (WC) |
KwaMashu (KZN) |
Phoenix (KZN) |
Booysens (GP) |
|
Pretoria Central (GP) |
Midrand (GP) |
Sandton (GP) |
Rustenburg (NW) |
|
Khayelitsha (WC) |
Umlazi (KZN) |
Mondeor (GP) |
Sandton (GP) |
|
Booysens (GP) |
Ivory Park (GP) |
Chatsworth (KZN) |
Honeydew (GP) |
|
Umlazi (KZN) |
Wierdabrug (GP) |
Midrand (GP) |
Boksburg North (GP) |
|
Parkweg (FS) |
Rustenburg (NW) |
Bramley (GP) |
Benoni (GP) |
|
KwaMashu (KZN) |
Booysesn (GP) |
Moroka (GP) |
Germiston (GP) |
|
Nyanga (WC) |
Douglasdale (GP) |
Jhb Central (GP) |
Phoenix (KZN) |
|
Pinetown (KZN) |
Roodepoort (GP) |
Cleveland (GP) |
Pietermaritzburg (KZN) |
|
Rustenburg (NW) |
Brooklyn (GP) |
Durban Central (KZN) |
Alberton (GP) |
|
Cape Town Central (WC) |
Parkview (GP) |
Boksburg (GP) |
Randburg (GP) |
|
Thabong (FS) |
Garsfontein (GP) |
Brackendowns (GP) |
Bramley (GP) |
|
Kwazakele (EC) |
Kwadukuza (KZN) |
Isipingo (KZN) |
Greenwood Park (KZN) |
|
Galeshewe (NC) |
Esikhawini (KZN) |
Jeppe (GP) |
Jeppe (GP) |
|
Sunnyside (GP) |
Kanyamazane (MP) |
Newlands East (KZN) |
Florida (GP) |
|
Dobsonville (GP) |
Inanda (KZN) |
Springs ((GP) |
Kempton Park (GP) |
|
Phoenix (KZN) |
Randburg (GP) |
Edenvale (GP) |
Springs (GP) |
