Crime in South Africa is rapid and occurs on a routine basis. As the old saying
goes, �Crime never takes a vacation.� The welfare and stability of the citizens of South
Africa is threatened severely by the crime that occurs daily in this country. Government
anti-crime efforts seem to have little effect on preventing crime. As a result, car jackings,
robberies, and looting are reported quite regularly to authorities. Often these acts are
accompanied by violent behavior acted out by the perpetrator leaving the victim severely
injured or even dead. Foreign travelers are specifically targeted by the criminals in South
Africa, as assaults and armed robberies occur most frequently around hotels and airports
(Barth 61). In all of these attacks upon society it is important to rely on recording these
incidents so that overall crime patterns can be studied to improve policing.
South Africa, just like hundreds of other countries around the world, has been
recording their incidence of crime. Every year they release statistical reports on how
much and what type of crime occurred during that year. This helps law enforcement
officials to do their jobs better. They can study crime patterns and then allocate the proper
resources to lower that crime rate. However, South Africa like many other countries in
the world deals with problems in it�s statistical analysis of crime. The current statistics of
South Africa have been said to be unreliable. Government officials have cited the
practices of police in recording crime and the low level crime reports from the public as a
serious problem in the accuracy of crime statistics. Police in South Africa have a tendency
not to record crime. Most of the time, they want to keep crime statistics down to avoid
poor job performance. However, the failure of police to record actual criminal incidents
can be because of a prejudice against the victim or an overall disinterest in the victim�s
plight (Barth 67).
The victims in South Africa are just like victims around the world. They are
scared, upset, and feel violated. Effects like this often influence the likelihood of the
victim reporting crime against them. Many times, a victims wishes not to report crime
because of a fear of the police. Many victims find police presence intimidating and fail to
report offenses. Often, victims wish not to report their crime, because they are afraid of
being publicly humiliated (Conley 46). In South Africa, gang rapes by school boys is
common. Known as �whirling,� victums shudder at the thought of reporting this crime
because of the embarrassment or thought of prolonged misery by police investigation. In
many less serious cases of crime, victims do not even bother to report the crime against
them. For a period from 1994 to 2000, levels of assault with great bodily harm have
out-numbered �common assaults.� The chances of a crime being reported are great if
items that are stolen or damaged happen to be insured. Insurance, as in many countries, is
a motive for reporting fraudulent crimes that haven�t even occurred. These crimes end up
being averaged into the crime statistics. An overall improvement in the recording of crime
statistics in South Africa is very much needed. Improvements such as the implementation
of a democracy and police community programs have been credited for the rise in criminal
reporting by victims. (Barth 172). Government legislative acts such as the �Domestic
Violence Act of 1998�, mandating the arrest of domestic violence perpetrators, has
created a rise in the level of incidence of violence overall, due to reporting resulting from
arrest. Arrest records have in effect affected the accuracy of this statistic in a positive
way.
In an analysis of the crime statistics for a seven year period, 1994-2000, one factor
stands out consistently. These statistics have shown broad increases in levels of violent
crime. From the period of 1994 to 2000, violent crime has increased from 1600 to 1876
incidents per 100,000. Interesting to note, it appears that these violent crimes are
becoming less fatal. A multitude of the types of violent crimes have shown an increase.
During the same seven year period, robbery has increased from 220 incidents to 251
incidents per 100,000 people. Common assault has risen during this time period, from 502
incidents to 569 incidents per 100,000 people. Assault with great bodily harm has
increased from 544 incidents to 624 incidents per 100,000 people. Recorded rape has
climbed the charts. In the year 2000, there were 120 incidents which is higher than the
previous year�s figures. In our research of the crime statistics of South Africa, we have
experienced difficulties in obtaining statistics before the 1980�s (Conley 85). During
Apartheid, which did not end until the beginning of the 1990�s, methods of recording
crime statistics seemed to have been laxed. Records are hard to come by both online and
at libraries.