🚨 Crime & Safety
Murders, guns, carjackings, house robberies — and how safe people feel — 8 figures, each linked to its official source.
The number
0
What it means
Around 27,600 murders are recorded each year. Most start as arguments that spiralled out of control — and many involve illegal guns that could be traced and removed.
The Braai Test
The encouraging part: SA cut this number nearly in half between 1994 and 2011. It's proof the trend can turn — and it can turn again.
Trend
The number
0 per 100k
What it means
South Africa's murder rate is well above the global average of about 5 per 100,000 — but it fell dramatically in the 2000s, showing improvement is possible.
The Braai Test
If SA matched the global average, around 24,000 more people would come home safe every single year.
Trend
The number
0
What it means
Nearly half of all murders involve a firearm — and police say most of those guns are illegal. That makes illegal guns one of the clearest levers for bringing violence down.
The Braai Test
SAPS's own math: one illegal gun taken off the street can prevent up to seven murders and four attempted murders.
Trend
The number
0
What it means
Around 63 cars are hijacked every day — that's one every 23 minutes.
The Braai Test
In the time it takes to braai a round of chops, about two cars have been hijacked somewhere in SA.
The number
0
What it means
About 110 break-ins happen while families are at home each day. It's the crime South Africans fear most — and one where alarms, cameras and neighbourhood watches genuinely make a difference.
The Braai Test
It's why electric fences, panic buttons and neighbourhood watches have become part of daily life here — and why bringing this number down would change how the whole country feels at night.
The number
0
What it means
About 146 sexual offences are reported daily — and experts believe many more are never reported, which is why support services and safe reporting matter so much.
The Braai Test
The stats only show what's reported. Change starts when friends call each other out before it happens, survivors get real support, and cases move faster through the courts.
The number
0
What it means
Kidnapping has risen sharply — roughly 47 cases a day, many linked to ransom demands. Dedicated police units are now being built up to fight it.
The Braai Test
A decade ago this was a rare crime. Today it happens about once every half hour — which is exactly why it's now a national policing priority.
The number
0%
What it means
Only about a third of households feel safe walking alone in their own area after dark — down from over 40% a decade ago.
The Braai Test
Two out of three of your neighbours wouldn't walk to the corner shop at night. Safer streets start with visible policing and working streetlights — fixable things.
On the bright side
Murders were halved between 1994 and 2011
From about 27,000 a year at the dawn of democracy to around 16,000 by 2011. It proved SA can turn the tide — and it can again.
Source: SAPS – Annual Crime StatisticsIllegal guns are being taken off the streets
In a single quarter, police arrested nearly 2,000 people for illegal firearm possession — and destroyed over 16,000 seized guns in one day. Fewer illegal guns on the street means fewer shootings.
Source: SAPS – Quarterly Crime Statistics / firearm destructionsMost households experienced no crime last year
In the Victims of Crime Survey, the large majority of South African households say they experienced no housebreaking, robbery or theft in the past 12 months.
Source: Stats SA – Victims of Crime Survey (P0341)