Contact crimes are violent offenses where the perpetrator targets a victim directly, involving physical contact, the application of force, or threats of violence. These crimes, also known as “crimes against the person,” include murder, attempted murder, sexual offenses, and all forms of assault (common or with intent to cause grievous bodily harm).
The composition of contact crimes in Cape Town reveals two key patterns. First, less-serious offenses dominate: common assault represents 39–45% of all contact crimes, while common robbery maintains 12–19%. Second, serious violent crimes show concerning growth: murder’s share has increased from 3.33% to 6.26%, and attempted murder has risen from 3% to 5–6% over the past two decades.
The contact crime rate has shown a long‑term downward trend from 2005/06 to 2024/25, falling from 2032 incidents per 100,000 people in 2005 to 1541 per 100,000 in 2024. After a steady decline through the late 2000s and early 2010s, the rate fluctuated modestly, rising again between 2012 and 2015 before continuing its gradual decrease.
A significant dip occurs in 2020/21, where the rate drops sharply to 1294, likely reflecting pandemic‑related mobility restrictions. In the years following, contact crime rates rebound slightly reaching 1583 in 2023/24 before easing again in 2024/25. Overall, despite short‑term fluctuations, the long‑term pattern reflects a substantial reduction in contact crimes over the two‑decade period.
This safety perception data is sourced from the Governance, Public Safety and Justice Survey (GPSJS), conducted by Statistics South Africa. The survey measures public perceptions of safety by asking respondents how safe they feel walking alone in their area during daylight hours and after dark.
Since 2011/12, perceptions of safety when walking alone in the area have steadily weakened, especially during the day. Daytime feelings of safety were initially high, with nearly 77% of respondents reporting that they felt safe in 2011/12, but this gradually declined over the decade, reaching a low of around 51% in 2020/21. Although there was a temporary rebound in 2021/22, daytime safety has since stabilised at lower levels, settling in the mid 50% range by 2024/25.
Nighttime perceptions have consistently been far lower, starting at 26% in 2011/12 and falling to around 16% by 2016/17 before fluctuating in later years. Despite some recovery most notably in 2019/20 and again in 2024/25 nighttime safety still reflects that the majority of residents feel unsafe after dark.
Overall, the long term trend shows a clear erosion of daytime safety and persistently low nighttime safety, with the narrowing gap between them driven largely by declining confidence in daytime conditions rather than substantial improvements at night.
