- Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke says household crime increased by 14% in 2021-'22.
- Maluleke released the results of the Victims of Crime report in Pretoria on Tuesday.
- The second most common type of crime experienced by households is home robberies.
Household crime increased by 14% in 2021-'22, compared to the previous financial year.
Around 2.2 million households experienced housebreakings during the past five years.
Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke revealed this during the release of the Victims of Crime report in Pretoria on Tuesday morning.
According to Statistics South Africa's Governance, Public Safety and Justice Survey (GPSJS) report, a total of 983 000 households experienced housebreakings during this period.
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Maluleke said the second most common type of crime experienced by households was home robberies, which affected 155 000 families.
The report estimated that 1.4 million incidences of housebreaking occurred in the country. Only about 59% of the households reported some or all incidences to the police. KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest proportion (7.9%) of housebreakings.
The second highest number of housebreakings was recorded in North West (7.8%), followed by the Eastern Cape (6.1%) and the Northern Cape (6%).
Housebreakings peaked in December (146 000) and June (147 000).
In addition, a total of 99 000 households experienced assault in 2021-'22, Maluleke said.
He said assaults were likely experienced in women-headed households and households in non-metro areas.
Around 213 000 households experienced an assault during the past five years. Assault cases increased by 70% compared to the previous year.
The report revealed that 32 000 households experienced sexual offences during the past five years. Maluleke said it was an increase of 28% compared to the previous year.
He also added that around 163 000 households experienced car theft during the past five years. Car theft cases decreased by 23% compared to the previous year.