CAPE TOWN, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- More than 1.5 million incidences of household crime occurred in South Africa in 2017/18 period, an increase of five percent compared to the previous year, according to the Victims of Crime Survey (VOCS) released on Thursday.
In the financial year between 31 March, 2017 and April 1, 2018, incidences of crime on individuals, estimated at over 1.6 million, also saw an increase of five percent from the previous year, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said in the survey.
The survey showed that aggregate household crime levels increased in Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, North West, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga provinces, while individual crime levels increased in Free State, North West and Gauteng, with North West experiencing a drastic increase of 80 percent in individual crime level.
More provinces experienced an increase in household and individual crime levels if comparisons were done using proportions instead of absolute numbers, Stats SA said.
Housebreaking or burglary continued to be the dominant type of crime in the period, accounting for 54 percent of all household crimes surveyed in the VOCS.
An estimated 832,122 incidences of housebreaking occurred, a seven-percent increase, while an estimated 156,089 incidences of home robbery occurred, an increase of three percent from last year, according to the survey.
In the case of individual crimes, theft of personal property was the most dominant, accounting for about 41 percent of individual crimes.
The survey also showed that more South Africans were dissatisfied with police.
The percentage of South Africans who were satisfied with police response in 2017/18 was 54 percent, a decrease of 5.5 percent from the previous year.
Meanwhile, South Africans who were satisfied with the courts dropped by 8.5 percent from last year to 41 percent, according to the survey.
