The State of Urban Safety in South Africa Report 2017

The debate on the role of cities in ensuring safer environments for their residents continues to evolve. As cities throughout the world face the challenge of balancing limited budgets with the requirement to deliver multiple lines of service and infrastructure, the critical aspect of safety is not always a focus, particularly in the developing world. This is often because the responsibility for delivering a safer environment has lain with the national authorities; despite safety is being one of the highest demands by citizens. Compared to rural areas, urban and metropolitan regions carry a disproportionate burden of crime and violence – the nine cities considered in this report are home to about 40% of the country’s residents but record about half of all murders, two-thirds of aggravated robberies and three-quarters of vehicle thefts and carjacking.