Almost nine out of 10 citizens say the government is doing a poor job of tackling crime.
Key findings
- Three-quarters (75%) of South Africans say they felt unsafe while walking in their neighbourhood at least once during the year preceding the survey. About two-thirds (65%) report fearing crime in their home. o Experiences of insecurity are particularly common among poor citizens, urban residents, women, and Black citizens.
- One-third (34%) of South Africans live within easy walking distance of a police station.
- About one in five citizens (21%) say they requested police assistance during the previous year. Twice as many (43%) encountered the police in other situations, such as at checkpoints, during identity checks or traffic stops, or during an investigation. o Among citizens who asked for help from the police, 45% say it was difficult to get the assistance they needed, and 18% say they had to pay a bribe. o Among those who encountered the police in other situations, a quarter (25%) say they had to pay a bribe to avoid problems.
- About six in 10 citizens (61%) say "most" or "all" police are corrupt.
- Only about one-third (32%) of South Africans say they trust the police. The share of citizens who say they don't trust the police "at all" has climbed by 25 percentage points since 2011, to 43%.
- Three-quarters (76%) of citizens say the police engage in illegal activities at least "sometimes," including 47% who believe this happens "often" or "always."
- Only about one-quarter (24%) of citizens say the police "often" or "always" operate in a professional manner and respect all citizens' rights; three in 10 (31%) assert that such behaviour is rare or unheard of. o But 76% consider it likely that the police will take reports of gender-based violence seriously.
August 16 marks 12 years since South African police gunned down 34 striking mineworkers in Marikana in the most brutal display of repression of dissent since the country's transition to democracy. Cyril Ramaphosa, then a board member of Lonmin, where the miners were striking, was heavily involved in escalating the confrontation (Munusamy, 2015) but managed to shake off the controversy on his way to becoming president.
Regrettably, scenes of police brutality have continued, notably during the 2015-2016 #FeesMustFall protests and the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown (Amnesty International, 2016; McCain, 2021). The Independent Police Investigative Directorate reported a 32% surge in complaints against police officers during the first 41 days of lockdown compared to the same period in the previous year (Burger, 2020).
Despite budgetary increases in recent years (SA News, 2024a), the South African Police Service has failed to rein in crime. Official statistics show 7,710 homicides in the final three months of 2023 - an increase of 155 compared to the same period the previous year (SA News, 2024b). Over the past two decades, homicides in South Africa have seen a sharp rise, reaching a peak of 45 deaths per 100,000 people in 2023. The Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and Western Cape provinces recorded 83% of the country's homicides in 2022/2023 (Bruce, 2023).
Moreover, a recent report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime revealed that South Africa saw 10 political killings in the first four months of 2024, just prior to the May election (Matamba & Thobela, 2024) - an average of one assassination every two weeks. Political violence is used as a tool to control dissenting voices, manage the tussle for succession, invade local government, and manipulate political outcomes (Mwareya, 2023).
Women and children are particularly vulnerable to violent crime, including homicide. The latest figures indicate that 18,474 women and 2,281 children were violently assaulted in the last quarter of 2023, while 1,135 women and 285 children were slain during the same period (South African Police Service, 2024). The true extent of violent crimes against women and children is unknown, as many go unreported (Business Tech, 2022).
Statistics South Africa's (2024) Crime Against Children report found that children as young as 6 years are victims of many interpersonal crimes, including rape and assault. Child abduction is also a growing concern, with more than 1,300 cases a month reported to the police (Peterson, 2024). Six-year-old Joslin Smith, who vanished from her home in Saldanha Bay in February, remains missing nearly six months after her disappearance (Swartz, 2024), and she is just one of many (Francke, 2024).
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Amid these challenges, how do South Africans see their police? This dispatch reports on a special survey module included in the Afrobarometer Round 9 (2021/2023) questionnaire to explore Africans' experiences and assessments of police professionalism.
In South Africa, many citizens express little or no trust in the police and believe that corruption is rife among police officers. Solid majorities say police officers at least "sometimes" engage in criminal activities, stop drivers without good reason, and use excessive force in dealing with criminals and in managing protests. Only one in four citizens say the police generally operate in a professional manner, and only one in 10 think the government is doing a good job of reducing crime.
Asafika Mpako Asafika is the communications coordinator for Southern Africa
Stephen Ndoma Stephen is the assistant project manager for Southern Africa
