A new survey from StatsSA reveals the extent to which South Africans report their experience with crime to the police.

The survey found that nearly 1.5 million housebreaking incidents occurred at 1.1 million households, a figure representing 5.7% of all homes, yet just 43% of victims reported the incidents to the police. Home robberies (effectively home invasions) reached 259 000 incidents, impacting 213 000 households, or 1.1 percent of the national total, with a higher reporting rate of 51.3%.

The survey also revealed that theft of personal property remained the most common crime experienced by individuals aged sixteen and over, with 1.3 million incidents affecting 1.2 million people, some 2.6% of the population. Only 31% of victims reported such thefts. Consumer fraud was the next most prevalent, impacting 566 000 people in 811 000 incidents, with just 34.9% reporting these cases.

Despite these levels of crime, 81% of South Africans say they felt safe walking alone in their neighbourhoods during the day, although this figure fell to 36.1% at night.

The relatively low proportion of people who report crime to the police is reflective of low overall trust levels, not only in the police, but public institutions as a whole.