South Africa (tics)

Crime statistics in South Africa (August 2009)

• During the past year, house robberies increased by 13,5%.
• Of the almost 15 000 residential robberies committed in 2008, half (50%)took place in Gauteng.
• The average age of a house robber is between 19 and 26 years.
• An average of 30% of all house robbers have either committed murder, or won't hesitate to commit murder.
• Only 17% of house robbers are foreigners.
• Of all arrested robbers, 90% had no matric or were unemployed. The 10% who had been employed, gave up their jobs when confirming how much they could "earn" from a robbery.
• Most victims or targets are affluent persons who openly display their wealth, e.g. expensive cars, jewellery, up market homes.
• Much intelligence is gathered about the target home and its residents by means of inside information supplied by domestic workers.
• 80% of residential robberies are committed with the help of information from domestic workers, gardeners and former employees.
• The robbers will monitor the home and movements for as long as is needed to formulate a plan of attack - sometimes up to two weeks.
• All gangs research and monitor the response times of armed response companies.
• Most attacks occur between 19:00 and midnight as people are relaxed, busy cooking or watching TV,& security systems and
  beams are not activated. Robberies continue until 04:00 in the morning.
• The biggest deterrent confirmed by robbers themselves, are small dogs that are kept inside the home.
• Alarm systems and armed reaction services are not considered a deterrent. Electric fences, closed-circuit TV (CCTV) and detection beams do, however, deter robbers.
• An average of R5 000 is stolen during each robbery.
• Surprisingly, victims of house robberies are only seriously injured in 2% of all incidents.
• Only 35% of robbers stole for basic needs (hunger, poverty), while 65% enjoyed the money and spent it on clothes, cars, etc.
• The average robber commits 103 robberies over seven years before being caught.
• A staggering 97% of all robbers are armed and on average there are four members in an armed robbery gang.
• Most attackers' homes or bases are a 10 to 30 minute drive from the target address.
• Women are more often tortured or hurt during house robberies.
• The conviction rate for house robberies in South Africa is only 7.67%. In the USA it is 53%.

Source: Dr. Rudolph Zinn of the School of Criminal Justice at UNISA (There are plenty of people who quote the study, but the study is nowhere online that I could find. Please let me have the link if you have one.)

{Tanya Pretorius' Bookmarks: South Africa, Tics}