In just one year there were more than one million incidents of housebreaking in South Africa.
Some houses were burgled when there was no one there and in other instances, armed robbers stormed homes and accosted occupants before robbing them.
As many as 800 000 people were affected by the wanton crimes that involved the theft of cars and other valuables by marauding thieves, who were not deterred by the lockdown and curfew.
The high levels of crime were revealed Thursday by Statistics South Africa in its 2021 report on Governance, Public Safety and Justice Survey (GPSJS), Victims of Crime.
“The report shows that in 2020/21 an estimated 1,0 million incidences of housebreaking occurred, affecting 809 000 households in South Africa,” said Stats SA.
“The highest proportion (6,7%) of households that experienced housebreaking was in the Western Cape.
“Almost 56% of households that experienced housebreaking reported some or all incidences to the police.”
Stats SA said the GPSJS survey showed that an estimated 141 000 incidences of home robberies occurred, affecting 112 000 households in 2020/21.
“The number of affected households represents 0,6% of all households in the country,” said Stats SA.
“About 56% of households that experienced home robbery reported some or all incidences to the police.
“Theft of motor vehicles was experienced by 81 000 households in 2020/21 in a total of 83 000 incidences.”
The report estimates that 844 000 incidences of theft of personal property occurred in 2020/21, affecting 732 000 individuals aged 16 years and older.
While the number of affected individuals represents 1,8% of the population, Stats SA said only about a third of individuals who experienced theft of personal property reported some or all incidences to the police.
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As many as 304 000 individuals experienced street robbery and just over half the victims bothered to report the incidents to the police.
A total of 321 000 (0,8% of adults aged 16 and older) individuals experienced customer fraud in a total of 493 000 incidences.
Stats SA said a larger number of these incidences were attributed to advance-fee fraud such as the R99 credit/debit card scam, 419 scams.
Results show that 41,3% of the victims reported some or all incidences to the police, which is a 15,3 percentage point increase compared to the previous year.
About 64 000 hijackings occurred in 2020/21, affecting as many persons aged 16 years and older. Not everyone reported the crimes to the police.
