Why is this a “giant”?
With the world’s highest reported incidents of murder and rape per capita, South Africa is faced with a crisis in crime that affects international confidence, domestic stability, and individual security.

What are the realities?
MURDER AND ASSAULT: South Africa regularly has the highest reported incidents of murder internationally. In 2001, there were 51,174 known cases alone. This rate is higher than our “peer” countries. In 1998, for example, South Africa had 59 murders for every 100,000 people, whereas Colombia had 56, Namibia had 45, and Jamaica had 37. The figures are even more startling when compared to industrialized nations, like the US at 6, Spain at 3, and England and Wales at 1 for every 100,000. The number of reported serious assaults for the same time period totaled 266,355.

SEXUAL ASSAULT: Again, South Africa continues to top international charts in the reported number of sexual assaults and attacks. In the year 2001, there were 72,043 reported incidents of sexual offenses, including 53,976 rapes. The culture of silence surrounding this and other assaults leads to crimes that are under-reported. Rape Crisis Cape Town conservatively estimates that only 1 out of 20 rapes is actually reported, whereas the SAPS estimated in 1997 that the figure was 1 in 36.

THEFT: The statistics of theft in South Africa are also staggering. For 2001, the number of aggravated thefts totaled 602,772; Robbery and violent thefts totaled 208,932; breaking and entering 393,840; theft of motor cars totaled 98,482, and other thefts falling outside these categories totaled 887,696. Since theft affects more than just the loss of property and the degrading of wealth, and also affects general feelings of anxiety and insecurity, the long term impact of this crime wave is incalculable.
FRAUD AND CORRUPTION: Charges of fraud and other forms of private and public corruption abound in our nation today. The total number of reported incidents of fraud for 2001 totaled 60,820. The extent of corruption, both perceived and actual, undermines our confidence in government and business leaders and calls into question the direction of the nation as a whole.

What does this mean?
The total number of all offenses in reported in our national statistics for 2001 was 3,643,297. If there are approximately 41,000,000 people in South Africa, that means 1 out every 11 persons in South Africa has been touched by crime in some way in this year alone. Why does crime occur? There is not one reason for crime in South Africa, and the causes for each type of crime will vary. However, there are several potential causes, including the vast inequalities created by apartheid, continued racism and discrimination, deep levels of national poverty, a growing sense of lawlessness or hopelessness, and issues of governance and accountability.

What is being done?
The Government’s National Crime Prevention Strategy attempts to address the root causes of each particular crime. Beyond simply punishing criminals, it hopes to tackle the reasons why crime occurs. There are numerous other civil society initiatives taken by organizations like NICRO, such as “From Victims to Victory” and “Make a Fresh Start,” that deal with both victims and perpetrators of crime.

What is our responsibility?
How can we as a Church community challenge the causes of crime? What specific actions can we take as Church leaders to lesson the impact of crime on the long term development of the nation? How, as a Church community, are we to respond the perpetrators of crime given our religious framework?