Victims of Crime Survey, 2016/2017

The 2016/17 Victims of Crime Survey "data combined with the data from previous years show a general decline of crime both in terms of the proportion of households that were victimised and the proportion of individuals 16 years and older that were victimised. However, the rate of decline is very low. With South Africans experiencing lower levels of crime, it is expected that communities would feel safer. Instead, the survey reveals that declining crime trends were accompanied by deteriorating feelings of safety among households. According to the survey, the percentage of households who experienced at least one incident of crime decreased from 9% in 2015/16 to 7% in 2016/17, while feelings of safety when walking alone in their neighbourhood when it is dark decreased from 31% to 29% in the same period."

Analysis of trends of individual crime types also showed a decline in the proportion of households (or individuals) that were victimised with the exception of theft out of motor vehicle, hijacking, sexual offence and consumer fraud. However, the number of incidents of crime per household, as measured by the Repeat Victimisation Index (RVI), has not followed the same pattern; in fact, for most types of crime this indicator has been increasing. Thus, fewer households are victimised but more often. This may explain the popular perception that crime is on the increase."