Pretoria is the safest
Pretoria is the safest city in the county, according to the findings released by the IHS Crime Index on Wednesday.
The capital city, Pretoria, was ranked as the safest city in South Africa by the IHS Crime Index, after releasing their findings on Wednesday. Even though the Crime Index revealed that crime in the country has declined over the past decade, Mangaung in the Free State is the most dangerous metro, with Capetonians being more likely to be victims of crime than Johannesburgers.
“The methodology of the IHS Crime Index adjusts all crimes for the size of the population in each area, and then weights crime categories according to the seriousness of each offence,” IHS senior analyst David Wilson said.
The IHS Crime Index is divided into two categories. One being violent crime index, which is crimes such as murder and rape, and the other being property crime index, which is crimes against properties such as burglary and arson.
Wilson said that the crimes are then combined into a single index figure which is useful for comparisons over time and across regions. “The completed IHS Crime Index makes the analysis of the crime trends possible,” said Wilson.
According to their findings, crime in South Africa has declined by 38% since 2002. “Violent crime is at the lowest level seen in a decade, declining some 40% between 2002 and 2013. Property crime experienced a decrease of 24% over the same period. The declining crime rates reflect the overall improvement of conditions in South Africa,” Wilson said.
Police Minister, Nathi Mthethwa said the findings vindicate government’s recently released national crime statistics. “While many local analysts were skeptical in their analysis of the statistics, it is gratifying that an internationally-recognised, credible and globally-respected institution has now affirmed the fact that crime is decreasing in South Africa,” said
Mthethwa.
“The IHS Crime Index serves as a great motivation to many hardworking police men and women, who, against all odds, still continue to serve with dedication. We want to say that whatever the challenges of the moment, nothing will deter these collective efforts between police and many law-abiding citizens in the quest toward crime reduction,” Mthethwa said.
He stated that his department has engaged in a multi-pronged approach in the fight against crime. “Almost on a weekly basis, we are out there, as the police leadership, meeting with communities, not because there are problems, but as part of ensuring that we entrench this community-policing philosophy,” the minister said.
