Over 1.5 Million Housebreakings Incidents Occurred In 2023-24 – Stats SA

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported about 1.5 million housebreakings in 2023-24, which negatively impacted around 1.1 million households in South Africa, implying that 5.9% of all households in the country were affected.

Of the households that experienced housebreaking, about 44% reported some or all of the incidents to the police. Moreover, there were around 263,000 home robberies, affecting 209,000 households during the same period.

"The number of affected households represents 1.1% of all households in the country. About 58% (57.6%) of households that experienced home robbery reported some or all incidents to the police," Stats SA said, SA News reported.

Aside from this, theft of personal property is the most common crime for people aged 16 and older in South Africa. There were about 1.4 million incidents of personal property theft, affecting around 1.3 million individuals. This represents 3% of people aged 16 and older.

About 29% of those affected reported some or all of these incidents to the police. The second most common crime was street robbery. Around 443,000 individuals experienced street robbery, with an estimated 497,000 incidents.

About 44% of these individuals reported some or all of the incidents to the police. In street robbery incidents, 24% of victims were injured, and 66% needed medical attention. Only 3.6% of the victims received counseling.

During the same period, about 295,000 people experienced assault in a total of 506,000 incidents. Less than 1% (0.7%) of people aged 16 and older were affected by assault. Among those who were assaulted, 55% reported that weapons were used, with knives being the most common weapon.

Around 23% of assaults happened at home. Only 1.9% of those who were assaulted received counseling afterward. About 54% of individuals who experienced assault reported some or all of the incidents to the police.

About 80% of people aged 16 and older felt safe walking alone in their neighborhood during the day but only 34.9% felt safe walking alone at night. Women felt much less safe walking alone in the dark compared to men.

The percentage of people taking steps to protect themselves from crime increased from 29.7% in 2022/23 to 39.9% in 2023/24. Only 33% said they only walk during safer hours to protect themselves.