Crime in South Africa: A country and cities profile

Crime has been increasing at an escalating rate since 1997.

Crime has been increasing at an escalating rate since 1997. Crime does not affect all people uniformly in South Africa. Johannesburg has the highest volume of serious crime, followed by Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban. There is no single satisfactory explanation for why South Africa has consistently high levels of crime. Rather, it is necessary to consider the country's political transition, and the impact firearms, organised crime, changing demographics, and a poorly performing criminal justice system have on levels of crime.

About the authors

Martin Schönteich is a senior researcher in the Crime and Justice Programme at the ISS. He is an advocate of the High Court of South Africa, and has worked as a prosecutor for the department of justice. He holds an LLB degree from the University of Natal (Durban), and a post-graduate degree in political science from the University of South Africa.

Antoinette Louw is head of the Crime and Justice Programme at the ISS. She joined the ISS in August 1997 as a senior researcher. She has been conducting research and has written extensively on issues of political violence and crime since joining the University of Natal's Centre for Social and Development Studies in 1991, where she was also the editor of the two quarterly publications, Indicator SA and Crime and Conflict. Antoinette has a Masters degree in Political Studies from the University of Natal on the use of press reports for empirical research into political violence.