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Crime is a major problem in ). Interpol figures showed that, in 2002 , South Africa experienced 114.8 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, the world's highest murder-rate and around five times higher than that of the second-highest country, Brazil . As of 1998 , South Africa led the world, although by a smaller margin, in reported murders and robberies. A 2001 report by the Institute For Security Studies concluded that "South Africa has high but manageable levels of property crime but an extraordinary high level of violent crime. It is South Africa’s high level of violent crime which sets the country apart from other crime ridden societies." The United Nations Interregional Crime And Justice Research Institute have also conducted research Victimisation in the developing world , United Nations Crime and Justice Research Institute on the victims of crime which shows the picture of South African crime as more typical of a developing country. These statistics show that South Africa has lower rates of violent crime than many African and South American countries. The comparison of national crime statistics between countries is controversial since not all countries record these statistics to the same accuracy and every country has its own definition of each type of crime. Crime has had a pronounced effect on society: many wealthier South Africans moved into Gated Communities , abandoning the central business districts of some cities for the relative security of the suburbs. This effect is most pronounced in Johannesburg, although the trend is noticeable in other cities as well. Many emigrants from South Africa also state that crime was a big factor in their decision to leave. Crime Against Commercial Farmers has continued to be a major problem in the country. South Africa also has a bad record for Car Hijackings when compared to industrialised countries largely associated with the lower rate of car ownership. The media is often sensationalist in its reporting of crime leading to high levels of fear. The insurance industry usually requires level of home security much higher than the actual levels of crime for a region. This means that communities often install very sophisticated intruder detection systems. BACKGROUND Violent crimes such as Murder and Robberies have decreased in recent years, with the year 2004 seeing a drop of 4.6% and 5.3% respectively for these two offenses. The rape and hijacking rates, however, showed no signs of such a slowdown. Hijackings and cash in transit heists particularly have been shown to be on the increase. The situation with rape has become so bad that the country has been referred to as the 'rape capital of the world'. SA 'rape capital' of the world , News24, 22 November 2005, accessed 10 March 2007 Recently the government has had a widely-publicised Gun Amnesty programme to reduce the number of weapons in circulation. In addition, it adopted the National Crime Prevention Strategy in 1996, which aimed to prevent crime through reinforcing community structures and helping individuals back into work. Independent Projects Trust: Crime prevention projects The government has been criticised for doing too little to stop crime. Some question the effectiveness of the 2006 . In one province alone, 19 police officers lost their lives in the first 7 months of 2006. The '', 2 June 2006, accessed 28 September 2006 GATED COMMUNITIES One of the most visible results of South Africa's crime problem is the increasing number of Gated Communities that have been built in an effort to promote the safety of inhabitants. They usually comprise of a group of suburban street blocks whose road exits have been fenced off with the exception of one or more entrances that are monitored by a guard, usually employed by a security company. The gated communities are generally located in wealthy areas whose residents can afford this type of protection. Having a house within a gated community tends to increase its value, and significantly reduces traffic within the gated community. Typically, gated communities are set up by the residents of a neighbourhood or block of streets, after they have been granted permission by their local municipality. Their plans also have to be approved by traffic analysts. They typically consist of blockade fencing being erected on the streets at the outskirts of the gated community, with one or more access points set up, which consist of ''booms'' in the road that are operated by a security attendant. Most gated communities keep a register of the license plates of cars that enter the community (or in some cases with more than one entrance, the cars that exit as well), and as such a guard is usually present 24 hours a day. The issue of gated communities is a controversial one, with some arguing that they are akin to a return to the Pass Laws , and research suggesting that they are a threat to democracy and risk causing further community division.Karina Landman, Gated communities in South Africa: Building bridges or barriers? , International Conference on Private Urban Governance, Mainz, Germany, 6-9 June 2002, accessed 28 September 2006. Some opponents to gated communities argue that statistically they are not much safer than non-gated communities, and the South African Human Rights Commission has been asked to report on whether or not they violate any human rights, such as freedom of movement. Legally, the access gates in a gated community are not supposed to deny anyone access; however they nonetheless serve the purpose of deterring traffic and unwanted individuals, and much better monitor the people entering and exiting the gated communities, usually with a register of vehicle license plates or other information. Gated communities also hamper emergency services, because not only are their access points to a given street much more limited, but gated community boundaries do not show up on maps which create the need for extra time to find the entrance. PRIVATE SECURITY COMPANIES In order to protect themselves and their assets, many businesses and middle- to high-income households in South Africa make use of privately owned with armed Security Guards . The SAPS (South African Police Service) uses private security companies to patrol and safeguard certain police stations, thereby freeing fully-trained police officers to perform their core function of preventing and combatting crime. Cops spend R100m on private security protection , SABCnews.com, 10 March 2007, accessed 10 March 2007 Police response is deemed too slow and unreliable, and thus security companies are a popular form of protection. Many levels of protection are offered, from suburban foot patrols to complete Security Checkpoint s at the entry points of homes. Most security companies offer Panic Button s and armed response. Some Security System s are highly complex, and may include guard patrols on the property, buried vibration sensors, Motion Sensor s and Laser Beam s. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL RESOURCES
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