Crime in South Africa is a major challenge. Although there are regional variations, overall, the levels of inter-personal violent crime in the country are extremely high. In particular, incidents of murder, attempted murder and serious robbery are at very high levels.
Seasonal changes characterise most inter-personal violent crimes. These are most profound in the case of serious assault. Such upturns in crime appear to be associated with times during the year when more people are on holiday, either at home or visiting places of entertainment. In both cases the excessive consumption of alcohol appears to impact on the extent of violent crime.
A key concern is the increase in robbery, and violent or aggravated robbery in particular. One-fifth of aggravated robbery cases relate to the hijacking of either cars or trucks, increases in hijackings are serious not only because this is a crime which instils fear, but also because increases in hijackings may signal a growth of organised criminal activity. Also of concern is the fact that hijackings are no longer taking place in and around Johannesburg only, as has been the case in the past. There has been a spread of the crime across Gauteng, and more recently, to other areas of the country, notably KwaZulu-Natal.
Firearms feature prominently in violent crime and contribute directly to the distinctively high murder rate in South Africa. In 1998 nearly half of all reported murders were committed with firearms. Where weapons are being used during robberies, they are more often than not firearms. In 1998, 85% of all serious robberies were committed with firearms, a ratio of 6:1 to other weapons.1
Handguns, i.e. pistols and revolvers, are the firearms of choice in most firearm crimes. Handguns also feature prominently among the high numbers of firearms that are being lost by or stolen from their owners.
Children are also victims in shooting incidents. In 1998, 461 children under 12 years of age and 358 young people between the ages of 12 and 17 were killed with firearms.
Firearm use is extremely high in the killing of police officers. In taxi violence, firearms outnumber other weapons by 17 to 1.
Reported cases of firearm negligence are on the increase.
There are more than 4.5 million registered firearms in South Africa, including almost 2.8 million revolvers and pistols. An average of 192 283 new licences have been granted each year for the past five years, with significant variations by province. Most of the firearms (78.2%) are registered to private individuals. Over 13 000 individuals have more than 10 firearms registered to each of
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1 Other weapons include
knives, garden implements, blunt and sharp objects, etc.
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