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The number of kidnappings in Johannesburg has risen nearly fivefold in the last ten years.

This is according to data from the South African Police Service (SAPS).

The SAPS defines kidnapping as the unlawful and intentional deprivation of a person’s freedom of movement.

In the 2015/16 reporting year there were 717 kidnappings in Johannesburg. This number remained fairly static until 2021/22, when the number of kidnappings rose significantly, to 1 837. However, the following year, the number almost doubled, to 3 213, and reached almost 4 000 in 2023/24 and 2024/25.

In South Africa overall, the number of kidnappings also grew rapidly, but not to the same degree as in Johannesburg.

In 2015/16 there had been 5 013 kidnappings in South Africa overall. Mirroring the situation in Johannesburg, this number stayed fairly static until 2021/22, when the number of kidnappings almost doubled compared to the previous year, to nearly 11 000. The number has grown steadily and there are now more than 15 000 kidnappings per year in South Africa.

Still, the growth in the number of kidnappings in Johannesburg has been higher than in South Africa as a whole. For example, for every kidnapping in Johannesburg in 2015/16 there were seven in South Africa as a whole. However, by 2024/25 that ratio had dropped to four.

The phenomenon of “express kidnappings” has also been on the rise. This is where a person is kidnapped and held for a short period of time and is forced to hand over money and access to their bank accounts to their captors. In March The Common Sense reported on the murder of a Johannesburg-based researcher, Steven Gruzd, with authorities saying he may have been a victim of one of these crimes.