StatsSA: Over two-million households experienced housebreaking in past five years
The latest report from Statistics South Africa does not make for pretty reading...
Crime is a big challenge in South Africa and housebreakings continue to be on the rise.
Speaking at the Victims of Crime report from the Governance, Public Safety, and Justice Survey (GPSJS) 2021/22 media briefing, Statistician-General of South Africa Risenga Maluleke said there has been an increase in housebreakings in the past five years.
More than two-million households were victims of break-ins.
“Around 2.2 million households experienced housebreaking or burglary during the past five years. The experience of housebreaking has increased by 14% from the previous year,” Maluleke said on Tuesday.
He added that it was imperative to not only look at the previous year, but to take into consideration the past five years because of the experiences it offered.
“We are looking at the previous five years, we will also look into the [past] 12 months, but it is very critical that we look at what happened in the past five years because there are so many experiences there.”
He said the report was conducted through house visits where residents where asked about their experiences in line with general safety.
He added that the past 12 months have seen an increase of more than 21%.
“When we go further, we are looking at an increase. We are saying households that experienced housebreaking increased by 21.5% in the 2021/22 period – the past 12 months. Home robbery [when house occupants are present] was 155 000 in contrast to housebreaking, when people are not at home,” said Maluleke.
KwaZulu-Natal was the hardest hit province, while Limpopo was the lowest.
READ: A neighbourhood robbery goes horribly wrong
Ways to lower the chances of your house being robbed:
- Survey your house using the eyes of a burglar. This means lookout for any weak spots.
- Make sure your outside lights are on at night. Criminals do not want to be seen in the light.
- Install cameras in your house. Don’t place them at an obvious place where robbers can damage them.
- Get burglar doors.
- Look out for hiding spots. Don’t make it easy for robbers to easily hide in your yard.
- Set up an alarm system.
- Make sure your house doors and windows are always closed properly.
- If you are going away, ask someone you trust to keep an eye on your house and install timers on your electronics.
- Don’t expose your valuables such as expensive electronics, art, or furniture, especially by the window.
- Have a safe and ensure the code is not easy to guess.
- Don’t leave expensive items lying around in your house. Phones and other valuables, including car keys, should not be in plain view.
- Install multiple locks on your entry doors.
- Conceal exterior wires that are connected to your home security system.
- Install window or glass break sensors.
Image courtesy of iStock/ @Thomas-Soellner