Of the seven crime categories listed in the report, Limpopo is rated first in terms of safety in all except two categories: burglary of business premises (rated second) and stock theft (rated third).

The Northern Cape, which has the best police to population ratio in the country, rated sixth for murder, last for rape, second for aggravated robbery, eight for stock theft, last for incidents of business burglary, sixth for residential burglary rates, and second for the rate of motor vehicle theft.

The Western Cape, which had the second best police to population ratio, came last or second last in all listed categories except stock theft (rated second) and rape (rated fifth).

The Institute said the figures were a cause for concern, particularly as one of the favoured proposals for the reduction of crime is an increase in the size of the police force. ‘An equitable distribution of police personnel around the country is clearly not a solution, as the information shows. While one might argue for more police officials to deal with gangs in the Cape Flats, the same request could not be advanced in the case of Limpopo which has different crime challenges,’ said the Institute’s crime researcher, Kerwin Lebone. Lebone added that the figures supported the Institute’s repeated call for decentralisation and greater autonomy for the provinces so that they might fashion policies that better suit their circumstances.

 Lebone said the solutions to crime were as complex as the reasons for its existence. ‘Limpopo has the highest proportion of formal houses in the country and the lowest proportion of informal settlements, which have been fingered in the latest SAPS annual report as hotbeds of criminal activity. This might be because criminal activity is easier to detect, and suspects easier to locate, in areas where there is a prevalence of formal dwellings, than is the case in crowded informal settlements where police access is more difficult.

Lebone added that the policy of recruiting reservists, and their remuneration, should also be revisited. ‘The ability to motivate reservists could prove to be difficult as they are deployed on a rotational basis and are not paid for 10% of the hours that they are deployed. This could make them susceptible to bribes and other corrupt acts as they are mostly privy to sensitive information,’ Lebone said.  The Western Cape had the highest proportion of police reservists in the country.

The Institute said a more detailed study on the salient crime patterns of each province should be undertaken as a matter of urgency so that crime-fighting policies could be implemented efficiently according to the needs of each relevant area.