Private security users urged to report crimes to police

More than half of the housebreakings in South Africa in 2025/26 weren’t reported to police because many victims believed nothing would be done. 

This finding is contained in Statistics South Africa’s latest Governance, Public Safety and Justice Survey, which provides a picture of crime that extends beyond cases recorded by the South African Police Service (SAPS). 

The survey found that 1.08 million households experienced housebreaking during the 2025/26 period. This represented 5.3% of households nationally. However, only 48.2% of those affected reported some or all housebreaking incidents to police. 

For the Jewish community, the findings highlight the importance of understanding what happens to crime reports after an incident. CSO chief executive Liron Sanders agreed community members don’t always want to open cases with SAPS. 

“While we see a lot of people hesitant to open cases, we strongly encourage the community to open cases as it assists with resourcing at a station department level,” Sanders said. 

The survey shows that when crimes remain unreported, they don’t enter SAPS statistics in the same way as reported cases. This can affect how the extent of crime is understood and how policing resources are allocated. 

Sanders said the CSO was working closely with SAPS and has a strong relationship with relevant police stations. 

Although Jewish households have a strong dependence on private security, he highlighted the effect that under-reporting to the police could have on community security. “We rely on police statistics to drive our operational response.” 

CAP data provides a similar picture of under-reporting, particularly for less serious crimes. Sean Jammy, CAP deputy chief executive, said its 2026 data showed that a SAPS case was opened in 58% of contact crimes reported to CAP. 

The figure was considerably higher for serious crimes. Home invasions were reported to SAPS in 84% of cases, while hijackings were reported in 58%. Armed robberies in public spaces were reported in 46% of cases. Only 39% of attempted contact crimes were reported. 

The reporting gap was considerably larger for what CAP calls soft crimes. Only 24% of these incidents were reported to SAPS, including 54% of burglaries, 21% of snatch-and-grab incidents, and just 17% of thefts. 

“The Stats SA report reflects something we see every day: many victims feel that opening a case will not lead anywhere, and so they don’t,” said Jammy. 

CAP nevertheless urged victims to report every crime, regardless of its seriousness. Jammy said a police case was important even when CAP had already responded to an incident. 

“When we apprehend a suspect, we work with SAPS and the prosecuting authority to support the docket through to conviction,” he said. “That process depends on a case having been opened by the victim.” 

As many as 24.4% of the heads of the South African households impacted by crime maintained they didn’t think it was worthwhile reporting to the police, according to the survey. A further 21.8% said police could do nothing or that there was insufficient proof. 

The Stats SA findings reinforce concerns about a lack of public confidence in policing. However, the survey doesn’t suggest that everyone who doesn’t report a crime distrusts the police. Other reasons included solving the matter themselves, believing police involvement was unnecessary, and reporting the matter elsewhere. 

The survey also found that reporting rates varied considerably according to the seriousness of the crime. An estimated 1.4 million incidents of theft of personal property were experienced by people aged 16 and older. Only 37.3% of victims reported some or all incidents to police. 

Street robbery produced a similar pattern. An estimated 459 000 people experienced street robbery, involving about 515 000 incidents. Only 41.7% reported some or all incidents. Among people who didn’t report street robbery, 36.8% said police wouldn’t do anything about it. This increased from 32.6% in 2024/25. 

The second most common reason was that police could do nothing or lacked proof. This was cited by 23.1% of victims, down from 26.3% the previous year. By contrast, reporting was substantially higher for more serious crimes. Some or all incidents were reported in 77.3% of cases involving hijacking and 67% of sexual offences. 

Murder had the highest reporting rate among the household crimes measured. Some or all incidents were reported in 94% of cases. The survey therefore shows a distinction between the experience of crime and the crime that enters official police statistics. 

Stats SA says the Governance, Public Safety and Justice Survey complements SAPS statistics rather than replacing them. SAPS figures record crimes reported to police, while the survey asks households and individuals about crimes they experienced. 

The survey was conducted between April 2025 and March 2026. It covered private households across all nine provinces, as well as residents in workers’ hostels. 

The latest findings also show that South Africans are increasingly taking measures to protect themselves against crime. 

The proportion of people aged 16 and older who had done something to protect themselves increased from 43.3% in 2024/25 to 46.6% in 2025/26. The most common measure was changing when people walked outside. Some 31.5% said they only walked during safer hours. 

A further 29.9% had installed physical security measures at home, such as security gates. About 7.3% had turned to private security, including paid armed response. Of those who took measures to protect themselves, 78.3% said they felt safer afterwards. 

While 80.7% of people felt safe walking alone in their neighbourhood during the day, only 37.9% felt safe doing so when it was dark. 

Women were particularly likely to feel unsafe. In 2025/26, 45.1% of women said they felt very unsafe walking alone after dark, compared with 38.8% of men. The Western Cape had the highest proportion of people who felt unsafe walking alone during the day, at 30.1%. Gauteng followed at 25.8%. 

Despite the concerns around reporting, some rates improved during 2025/26. Housebreaking reporting increased from 43.4% in 2024/25 to 48.2%. Street robbery reporting rose from 36.4% to 41.7%. 

The survey also found that household crime generally decreased. Seven of the eight household crime categories measured showed declines during the 12 months covered by the survey. However, individual assault increased from 363 000 victims in 2024/25 to 408 000 in 2025/26. 

The figures also show that many South Africans continue to rely on the police. When witnessing a crime, 40.8% said they would call the police first, making it the most common response. 

Together, the findings present a complex picture of public safety, with continued reliance on police alongside concerns about whether reporting crime to them will result in action.