Suburb-based crime statistics for crimes against the person and crimes against property. The Crime statistics datasets contain all offences against the person and property that were reported to police in that respective financial year. The Family and Domestic Abuse-related offences datasets are a subset of this, in that a separate file is presented for these offences that were flagged as being of a family and domestic abuse nature for that financial year. Consequently the two files for the same financial year must not be added together.

The National and Provincial statistics shared by South African Police Department SAPS. Data was extracted from the original file in order to present it in a must accessible way.

Context

CRIME STATISTICS: INTEGRITY

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has accepted a new and challeging objective of ensuring that its crime statistics are in line with international best practice. This will be achieved through a Memorandum of Understanding with Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), aimed at further enhancing the quality and integrity of the South African crime statistics.

The crime statistics generated by SAPS are an important link in the value chain of the statistics system informs policy development and planning in the criminal justice system. The collaboration with StatsSA will go a long way in enhancing the integrity of the SAPS crime statistics and ensuring that policy-makers have quality data to assist them with making policy decisions.

Content

The dataset contains South African crime statistics, broken down per province, station and crime type.

Acknowledgements

Data as published from:

• http://www.saps.gov.za/resource_centre/publications/statistics/crimestats/2015/crime_stats.php

Further sources:

• http://www.saps.gov.za/services/crimestats.php

An overview presentation:

• http://www.saps.gov.za/services/final-crime-stats-release-02september2016.pdf

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has accepted a new and challeging objective of ensuring that its crime statistics are in line with international best practice. This will be achieved through a Memorandum of Understanding with Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), aimed at further enhancing the quality and integrity of the South African crime statistics.

The crime statistics generated by SAPS are an important link in the value chain of the statistics system informs policy development and planning in the criminl justice system. The collaboration with StatsSA will go a long way in enhancing the integrity of the SAPS crime statistics and ensuring that policy-makers have quality data to assist them with making policy decisions.

In 2024, South Africa had a crime index of 75.4, which is to be considered high. However, this was one of the lowest indexes recorded in the country since 2017. Over the observed period, the value continuously fluctuated between 75 and 77. South Africa has the highest crime index in Africa and ranks as the fifth most dangerous country globally according to the same index.

The primary aim of the Victims of Crime Survey is to establish the prevalence of particular kinds of crime within a certain population. This may be victimisation experienced by individuals or households. Data from victimisation surveys can be used to supplement official crime statistics. The objectives of the survey are to: • Provide information about the dynamics of crime from the perspective of households and the victims of crime. • Explore public perceptions of the activities of the police, prosecutors, courts and correctional services in the prevention of crime and victimisation. • Provide complimentary data on the level of crime within South Africa in addition to the statistics published annually by the South African Police Service.

https://www.issafrica.org/crimehub/municipal/

The 20 police stations as at 31 Jul 2015 with the highest murder rates per 100 000 population in South Africa, using the mid-term population figures released annually by Statistics SA (which are based on the 2011 census data).

Research by Lizette Lancaster, ISS Manager at the Crime and Justice Information Hub, Governance, Crime and Justice Division, ISS Pretoria and Ellen Kamman, Independent Researcher

In 2003, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in South Africa conducted a national victims of crime survey with the aim of measuring crime trends in the country, public perceptions about crime and safety, as well as confidence in the criminal justice system. The study was planned and carried out to allow direct comparisons with a victim of crime survey conducted in 1998 by Statistics SA for the Department of Safety and Security and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI). The survey was conducted between September and October 2003. Households were randomly selected across the country based on the 2001 Census, and a national sample of 4,860 people, over the age of 16 years, was realised. The sample was stratified by province and urban/rural areas, and the data was weighted to reflect the actual composition of the population.

Replication of crime statistics published in pdf format by the South African Police Service in 2010. Data reflects, by police station, the number of serious offences reported at each police station for each financial year between 2003/4 and 2008/9.

The National and Provincial statistics shared by South African Police Department SAPS. Data was extracted from the original file in order to present it in a must accessible way.

The concept of victimisation surveys (also known as International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS)) is well established in South Africa (SA) and internationally. Until recently the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) coordinated and sometimes conducted the ICVS in developing countries. During the past two decades a number of surveys related to crime, crime victims and users of services provided by the safety and security cluster departments have been conducted by various service providers in South Africa. Besides these surveys, three national VOCS have been conducted. The first of these was the Victims of Crime Survey conducted in 1998 by Statistics South Africa. This survey was based on the ICVS questionnaire developed by UNICRI, with adjustments made for local conditions. The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) was responsible for conducting subsequent versions of the VOCS, the National Victimes of Crime Survey 2003 and the Victim Survey 2007. Starting with the Victims of Crime Survey 2011, Statistics SA plans to conduct the VOCS annually. The ‘new’ Victims of Crime Survey (VOCS) series is a countrywide household-based survey and examines three aspects of crime: • The nature, extent and patterns of crime in South Africa, from the victim’s perspective; • Victim risk and victim proneness, so as to inform the development of crime prevention and public education programmes; • People’s perceptions of services provided by the police and the courts as components of the criminal justice system. The VOCS 2011 is comparable to the VOCS 1998, VOCS 2003 and VOCS 2007 in cases where the questions remained largely unchanged. However, it is important to note that the sample size for the VOCS 2011 is much bigger than any of the preceding surveys, and the data should be considered more reliable than the earlier surveys especially at lower levels of disaggregation.

South Africa ZA: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data was reported at 9.022 Ratio in 2011. This records a decrease from the previous number of 10.444 Ratio for 2010. South Africa ZA: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data is updated yearly, averaging 10.225 Ratio from Dec 2006 (Median) to 2011, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10.850 Ratio in 2006 and a record low of 9.022 Ratio in 2011. South Africa ZA: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank: Health Statistics. Intentional homicides, female are estimates of unlawful female homicides purposely inflicted as a result of domestic disputes, interpersonal violence, violent conflicts over land resources, intergang violence over turf or control, and predatory violence and killing by armed groups. Intentional homicide does not include all intentional killing; the difference is usually in the organization of the killing. Individuals or small groups usually commit homicide, whereas killing in armed conflict is usually committed by fairly cohesive groups of up to several hundred members and is thus usually excluded.; ; UN Office on Drugs and Crime's International Homicide Statistics database.; ;

Abstract

The victims of crime survey 1998 was commissioned by the South African Department of Safety and Security (DSS), and undertaken by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). The first national survey of its kind in South Africa, this countrywide, household-based survey examines crime from the point of view of the victim. While surveys of crime victims cannot replace police statistics, they can provide a rich source of information which will assist in the planning of crime prevention. A victim survey can also examine the extent of reporting of crime, explore the perceptions that different people have about the police and police services, and act as a benchmark against which future surveys of the same nature can be compared.

Geographic coverage

The survey has national coverage

Analysis unit

Households and individuals

Universe

The survey covered all households in South Africa

Kind of data

Sample survey data

Sampling procedure

The sample consisted of 4 000 people aged 16 years or more. It was drawn in three stages. Firstly, a probability sample of 800 enumerator areas (EAs) was drawn from the sampling frame of 86 000 EAs, as demarcated for the 1996 population census. This sample was stratified explicitly by province, and implicitly by the 42 police districts of the country. Secondly, within each of the 800 EAs, five households were selected for interviewing, using systematic sampling. Thirdly, one respondent aged 16 years or more was selected to be interviewed in each of the five households in each sampled EA. This person was chosen using a table of random numbers. Once a respondent had been selected, fieldworkers were instructed to make sure that they interviewed only that specific person and nobody else. In case of non-contacts with that person, repeated callbacks (at least three) had to be made. There were no substitutions for refusals or non-contacts.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The survey questionnaire was based on a standard international questionnaire, but with certain modifications for use in South Africa. The international questionnaire covered eleven main crimes, including theft of a car or other motor vehicle, theft from a car or other vehicle, car vandalism, theft of a motor cycle or scooter, theft of a bicycle, burglary or housebreaking, attempted burglary, robbery with force, personal theft, sexual incidents and assault and two supplementary crimes (consumer fraud and corruption). In the South African questionnaire, the following crimes were added on the recommendation of the advisory committee to meet specific South African needs: theft of livestock, poultry and other animals, hijacking or attempted hijacking of vehicles, deliberate damage, burning or destruction of dwellings and deliberate killing or murder.

A control questionnaire was administered by the fieldwork supervisor in one of the five households selected for participation in each enumerator area. This served as a check on the accuracy of the random selection process of the individual in the household, and of the quality of information collected. The survey was favourably received, and 97% of the sample was realised.

Cleaning operations

The processes of computer programming, data capture and data analysis involved several steps: A tabulation plan was drawn up beforehand to assist with writing the computer programme for data capture. The data-input programme, containing both range and consistency checks, was written by a programmer working in Stats SA's Directorate of Household Surveys. Coding of the questionnaires and data capture were handled by temporary staff. Once the capturing was completed, additional editing programmes were written, and then the data-cleaning process was completed. Tables from the dataset, based on the tabulation plan, and the data set itself were then made available for analysis and report-writing.

South Africa ZA: Intentional Homicides: per 100,000 People data was reported at 34.300 Ratio in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 33.000 Ratio for 2015. South Africa ZA: Intentional Homicides: per 100,000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 39.200 Ratio from Mar 1996 (Median) to 2016, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 64.917 Ratio in 1996 and a record low of 29.900 Ratio in 2012. South Africa ZA: Intentional Homicides: per 100,000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank: Health Statistics. Intentional homicides are estimates of unlawful homicides purposely inflicted as a result of domestic disputes, interpersonal violence, violent conflicts over land resources, intergang violence over turf or control, and predatory violence and killing by armed groups. Intentional homicide does not include all intentional killing; the difference is usually in the organization of the killing. Individuals or small groups usually commit homicide, whereas killing in armed conflict is usually committed by fairly cohesive groups of up to several hundred members and is thus usually excluded.; ; UN Office on Drugs and Crime's International Homicide Statistics database.; Weighted average;

Abstract

The Victims of Crime Survey (VCS) is a countrywide household-based survey which collects data on the prevalence of particular kinds of crime within South Africa. The survey includes information on victimisation experienced by individuals and households and their perspectives on community responses to crime. Therefore, VCS data can be used for research in the development of policies and strategies for crime prevention and public safety and education programmes. Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) conducted its first VCS in 1998. Following the VCS 1998, victims surveys were conducted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). Since 2011, StatsSA began conducting an annual collection of the VCS as a source of information on crime in South Africa. The main objectives of the survey are to:

• Provide information about the dynamics of crime from the perspective of households and the victims of crime.

• Explore public perceptions of the activities of the police, prosecutors, courts and correctional services in the prevention of crime and victimisation.

• Provide complimentary data on the level of crime within South Africa in addition to the statistics published annually by the South African Police Service.

The VCS 2016/17 is the seventh release in the collection and is comparable to the new Governance, Public Safety and Justice Survey (GPSJS). StatsSA launched the GPSJS in April 2018 in response to the need for standardised international reporting standards on governance and access to justice that are recommended by the SDGs, ShaSA and Agenda 2063. Therefore, the VCS 2016/17 (and all subsequent releases) can be used as a complementary dataset to the GPSJS releases.

Geographic coverage

The survey has national coverage.

Analysis unit

Households and individuals

Universe

The target population of the survey consists of all private households in all nine provinces of South Africa and residents in workers' hostels. The survey does not cover other collective living quarters such as students' hostels, old-age homes, hospitals, prisons and military barracks, and is therefore only representative of non-institutionalised and non-military persons or households in South Africa.

Kind of data

Sample survey data

Sampling procedure

VCS 201/2017 uses a Master Sample frame which has been developed as a general-purpose household survey frame that can be used by other Stats SA household-based surveys. VCS 2016/2017 collection was based on the Stats SA 2013 Master Sample.This Master Sample is based on information collected during the 2011 Census conducted by Stats SA. In preparation for Census 2011, the country was divided into 103 576 enumeration areas (EAs). The census EAs, together with the auxiliary information for the EAs, were used as the frame units or building blocks for the formation of primary sampling units (PSUs) for the Master Sample. There are 3 324 primary sampling units (PSUs) in the Master Sample with an expected sample of approximately 33 000 dwelling units (DUs). The updating of the Master Sample as compared to previous VCSs is expected to improve the precision of statistical estimates.

The Master Sample is designed to be representative at provincial level and within provinces at metro/non-metro levels. Within the metros, the sample is further distributed by geographical type. The three geography types are Urban, Tribal and Farms. This implies, for example, that within a metropolitan area, the sample is representative of the different geography types that may exist within that metro.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The VOCS 2016/17 questionnaire was based on the questionnaires used in the International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS) and previous VOCSs conducted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and Statistics SA.

Sections 10 to 20 of the questionnaire relate to household crimes. A proxy respondent (preferably head of the household or acting head of household) answered on behalf of the household. Section 21 to 28 of the questionnaire about crimes on individuals were asked of a household member who was selected using the birthday section method. This methodology selects an individual who is 16 years or older, whose birthday is soonest after the survey date.

Data appraisal

Comparability:

Prior to 2014/2015, VOCS respondents were asked about their crime-related experiences in the previous calendar year, but since 2014/15 VCS changed to a Continuous Data Collection (CDC) method. In this data collection method, respondents were interviewed on a rolling basis over the course of a year and asked about crime experienced in the 12 months prior to the interview. As a result of this, the victimisation experiences reported by respondents interviewed in a period of 12 months relate to a broader span of 23 months.

The VCS 2016/17 is comparable to previous and subsequent VCSs in that several questions have remained unchanged over time. Where possible, it was generally indicated in the report.

South Africa ZA: Intentional Homicides: Male: per 100,000 Male data was reported at 51.254 Ratio in 2011. This records a decrease from the previous number of 51.919 Ratio for 2010. South Africa ZA: Intentional Homicides: Male: per 100,000 Male data is updated yearly, averaging 59.705 Ratio from Dec 2006 (Median) to 2011, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 67.598 Ratio in 2006 and a record low of 51.254 Ratio in 2011. South Africa ZA: Intentional Homicides: Male: per 100,000 Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank: Health Statistics. Intentional homicides, male are estimates of unlawful male homicides purposely inflicted as a result of domestic disputes, interpersonal violence, violent conflicts over land resources, intergang violence over turf or control, and predatory violence and killing by armed groups. Intentional homicide does not include all intentional killing; the difference is usually in the organization of the killing. Individuals or small groups usually commit homicide, whereas killing in armed conflict is usually committed by fairly cohesive groups of up to several hundred members and is thus usually excluded.; ; UN Office on Drugs and Crime's International Homicide Statistics database.; ;

Data presented as a spreadsheet; Provides an overview of the number of property related crimes and aggravated robbery reported across all provinces in South Africa since 2014.Linage: The data presented is extracted from the South African Police Service (SAPS) Crime Statistics trends as published on https://www.saps.gov.za/services/crimestats.phpData source: 2023-2024 _Annual_Financial year_WEB, SAPS, published ‎2024Contact person: Elize van der Berg, Department of the Premier, Elize.VanDerBerg@westerncape.gov.za

Age-standardised population rates for 2017 for all female murders, IPF, and NIPF by South African Provinces: weighted and imputed data.

Big Ten Countries include Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, and Turkey. The annual data for the years 2002-2019 was used. Growth Rate (GR), the literature’s basic economic variable, is selected as the dependent variable. As for the independent variable, the “Global Terror Index (GTI)” was used to represent the terror indicator. Besides, due to their effect on the growth rate, the ratio of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and the ratio of External Balance (EB) to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are included in the model as the control variables.