As with crime statistics in Germany, statistics about criminal activity do not represent the actual number of crimes. Not all crimes are recorded by the police, and the reporting behaviour of victims varies widely depending on the crimes. Nevertheless, every year in September since 1994 the ‘National Crime Statistics’ issues the results of crime statistics The offenses are defined in the opening of a case to a particular system of codes; the information is then entered from police lists, where the nature of the crime is reported. This information is found in the South African Police Sercie, it is collected and compiled from the 1130 police stations found in the country.

The amount of crime is measured by the total number of crimes per category, as well as the number of crimes per every 100,000 people. The latter allows the calculation of the risk from becoming a crime victim for individuals. A general statement about the increase or decrease of crime is not provided.

Problematic and unreflective interpretations, as well as thedevelopments of crime statistics are often carried out. The SAPS in the preparation of its data, for example, referred to unupdated population figures from the 2011 census, which therefore distorted the figures.

The use of crime statistics shall always be compared to the relative context. These include the relation to time, or global, local and regional comparisons.