How We Present Crime Data

Precinct-level data only

SAPS publishes crime statistics at police precinct (station) level — the lowest geographic level available. There is no official suburb-level crime data in South Africa. A single precinct typically covers multiple suburbs, so all suburbs served by the same police station share identical crime statistics.

This means crime data for a quiet residential suburb may include incidents from a neighbouring commercial or high-traffic area within the same precinct. We make this clear on every suburb page.

Trend classification thresholds

Year-on-year and baseline trend labels use a ±2% threshold to avoid labelling normal fluctuation as meaningful change:

This threshold applies to both year-on-year comparisons and the pre-COVID baseline comparison. Small precincts with low crime counts may show large percentage swings from minor fluctuations — the threshold helps filter out noise.

Raw counts and per-capita rates

SafeSuburb displays raw crime counts as published by SAPS on all precinct pages. Per-capita rates (crimes per 100,000 population) are shown on the Insights page for the 63 City of Cape Town precincts where precinct-level Census 2022 population data is available. For the remaining 89 precincts, only municipal-level population data exists (shared across multiple precincts), which is not accurate enough for per-capita calculations. Safety scores do not use per-capita rates — they are based purely on crime volume and trend direction.

Precincts serving larger populations will naturally show higher raw crime counts. A higher count does not necessarily mean an area is more dangerous — it may simply have more people. Year-on-year trends and 5-year baseline comparisons are more reliable indicators, as these compare a precinct against its own history.

Reported crime only

SAPS data reflects crimes reported to police. Crime reporting rates vary significantly by area. Under-reporting is common in many communities, meaning the true crime picture may differ from what the statistics show.

Data coverage

Our data spans 10 complete financial years plus 3 partial years (2013-2014 through 2025-2026), drawn from two SAPS publication types:

Where SAPS has not yet published all quarters for a financial year, totals cover only the available quarters. Year-on-year comparisons annualize both years (scaling totals by 4 / quarters available) to produce comparable full-year estimates. Charts and stat cards clearly label incomplete years.

Population data — two levels of accuracy

Per-capita crime rates require population data. We use two different official Census 2022 sources:

Per-capita rates are not displayed on individual precinct pages because only 63 of 152 precincts have accurate precinct-level population data. Per-capita analysis is available on the Insights page, scoped to the 63 City of Cape Town precincts. Neither source accounts for population changes since 2022, daytime populations, or seasonal shifts in tourist areas.

Suburb-to-precinct mapping

Our mapping of suburb names to police precincts is compiled from publicly available sources including Community Policing Forum websites, SAPS documentation, and geographic data. Some suburbs sit near precinct boundaries and may in practice be served by a different station than the one we've assigned. We welcome corrections — email us at hello@safesuburb.co.za.

Suburbs spanning multiple precincts

SAPS precinct boundaries don't always follow suburb lines. 21 suburbs in the Western Cape are physically split across two or more police precincts. For these suburbs, we show crime data from all relevant precincts on a single page so you can see the full picture without needing to know which precinct covers your street.

The safety score shown in search results uses the primary precinct (listed first alphabetically). The suburb page shows both precincts' crime totals, trends, and breakdowns side by side.