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.