Every year, the South African Police Service (SAPS) releases crime statistics for the financial year from 1 April to 31 March the following year. These statistics provide an indication of whether key crime categories are increasing or decreasing nationally, provincially, or across all police stations.
In recent years, the SAPS has also released quarterly crime statistics four times per year. These statistics provide a snapshot of crime on a specific date for a specific quarter and are not directly comparable with the annual statistics.
The police station data can be aggregated at a local municipal level to understand the public safety challenges better and guide the types of interventions needed. In addition, the continuous time series of the national, provincial, station, district or municipal-level crime statistics is used to provide longitudinal trends of selected crimes.
Image: Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp
