By Thapelo Molefe
Housebreaking remains the most common crime affecting South African households, while theft of personal property and consumer fraud dominate crimes experienced by individuals.
This is according to the Governance, Public Safety and Justice Survey (GPSJS) 2024/25, released on Tuesday by Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke.
The survey found that an estimated 1.5 million incidents of housebreaking occurred in 2024/25, affecting 1.1 million households, or 5.7% of all households in the country.
However, fewer than half of these cases (43%) were reported to the police.
Maluleke said that while housebreaking decreased slightly compared to 2023/24, other crimes rose. Home robberies affected 213,000 households, a 12% increase, while sexual offences against households surged by 55.3% to 73,000 cases. Murder at household level, however, dropped by nearly 12% to 59,000 cases.
At an individual level, theft of personal property was the most prevalent crime, with 1.3 million incidents reported, representing 2.6% of the population aged 16 and above. Only 31% of victims reported theft to the police.
The second most experienced crime was consumer fraud, which rose sharply from 367,000 victims in 2023/24 to 566,000 in 2024/25, a 37.9% increase. “We can see consumer fraud picking up again, now affecting about one million individuals over the past five years,” Maluleke said.
Other personal crimes also recorded significant increases. Assault affected 736,000 individuals, reflecting a 13.2% rise from the previous year. Hijackings climbed by 18.5% to 340,000 victims, while psychological violence rose by the same margin, affecting 582,000 people. Sexual offences against individuals also showed an upward trend, increasing by 13.8% to 132,000 cases.
Weapons were frequently involved in violent crimes. About 58% of home robberies involved weapons, with guns used in 71% of cases, while knives were most common in assault incidents.
Despite these figures, most South Africans still reported feeling safe during the day. The survey revealed that 81% of people felt safe walking alone in their neighbourhoods during the day, but only 36.1% felt safe at night. Women were more likely to feel unsafe after dark compared to men.
The report also highlighted coping measures. About 43% of individuals said they had taken steps to protect themselves, up from 39.9% in 2023/24. Nearly a third (29.9%) said they only walked during safer hours, while others relied on private security or physical home protection.
Regional differences were evident.
Over 70% of individuals in Mpumalanga and Gauteng reported feeling unsafe walking alone after dark, compared to just 35.8% in Limpopo.
Residents of Limpopo felt safer walking alone during the day (97.2%).
A larger proportion of persons in Northern Cape (2.4%) experienced assault compared to other provinces.
Gauteng (3.6%) had the highest proportion of individuals who experienced theft of personal property, while Limpopo had the lowest proportions of both theft of personal property (1.2%) and street robbery (0.4%).
However, more than half of the population admitted they had taken no protective measures, with many feeling that “there was nothing they could do.”
Maluleke stressed that the survey provides insights beyond official police statistics. “All households that experienced incidents of murder reported them to the police. But less than 50% of housebreaking incidents were reported,” he noted.
He added that the top reason for not reporting crimes was the belief that the police could not act due to lack of proof.
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