Housebreaking is the number one crime in SA

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, and households in Northern Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. Approximately 48% of affected households reported incidences to the police.

This is according to the Governance, Public Safety and Justice Survey (GPSJS) 2018/19 released by Stats SA. Data on victims of crime was previously collected through the Victims of Crime Survey (VOCS); this survey was redesigned into the GPSJS to make provision for new information on required on governance. Thus far, two reports from GPSJS have been published – one on governance themes and the other on victims of crime.

In 2018/19 there were about 260 000 incidences of home robberies, affecting roughly 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 people. The most common weapons used in home robbery were guns (54%) and knives (47%). Around 60% of households reported one or more incidences of home robbery to the police. The number of households that reported incidences of home robbery is about 120 000.

Let us look at some of the key findings of this report.