This article forms part of the Institute's True South Africa Evidence Series, which seeks to promote data-driven public debate through evidence, context and perspective.
True South Africa: Data. Context. Perspective.
If you tell South Africans that some crime trends have improved over the past three decades, many will react with disbelief.
Some will laugh. Others will point to a neighbour who was robbed, a relative who was assaulted or a friend who recently installed another security gate. And they would not be wrong.
Crime is deeply personal. Unlike economic growth rates, inflation figures or budget deficits, crime is experienced in ways that leave emotional scars. A burglary is not just a statistic. A hijacking is not just a data point. A murder is not just a number in a government report. Crime leaves people frightened, angry and often traumatised.
