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Articles on South Africa crime

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Smoke rises from a building set on fire at the height of looting and violence in South Africa in July 2021. RAJESH JANTILAL/AFP via Getty Images

South Africans are feeling more insecure: do Ramaphosa’s plans add up?

As the July 2021 unrest and looting graphically showed, crime and lawlessness can debilitate and destroy government efforts to facilitate and support economic growth.
South Africa’s Police Minister Fikile Mbalula’s biggest challenge is to ensure that criminals are brought to book. Reuters/Mike Hutchings

South African crime stats show police struggling to close cases

Poor leadership in crime intelligence and a struggling detective service are affecting the ability of South Africa - where a murder happens every 28 minutes - to bring down crime.
South Africa needs to urgently work out why its high rate of fatal violence is not slowing. Shutterstock

Murder on the rise as South Africa fails to stem high crime rates

South Africa has stubbornly high rates of violent crime. More concerning, though, is that the latest crime stats suggest the recent increase in murders is not slowing - it may even continue.
Crime is not at all evenly distributed in any country or city, so smaller scale data is essential. Shutterstock

What to look for in South Africa’s troubling crime statistics

South Africa releases crime statistics once a year. Politicians interpret them according to their particular agendas. Here’s a guide to what to look for and how to make sense of the trends.
Placards voicing the concerns of rape victims outside the High Court in Johannesburg. EPA/Kim Ludbrook

Rape in South Africa: why the system is failing women

Rape complainants who are perceived to have precipitated their own victimisation, whether through their conduct or their relationship to the perpetrator, are at a particular disadvantage.
Guns were part of Pistorius’ life at home and in public. EPA/Phill Magakoe/Pool

Pistorius verdict reflects a troubling relationship with guns

South African paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been found not guilty of the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The presiding judge, Thokozile Masipa, found him guilty, though, of culpable…
Pistorius trial has kept violence against women on the frontpage. Kim Ludbrook/EPA

Who is killing women in South Africa? The inconvenient truth

Who is responsible for violence towards women? This question runs like a thread through some of the public discourses swirling around the trial of athlete Oscar Pistorius. In some ways he represents an…

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