 | During the past year, house robberies
increased by 13,5%. |
| Of the almost 15 000 residential
robberies committed in 2008, half (50%) took place in Gauteng. |
| The average age of a house robber is
between 19 and 26 years. |
| An average of 30% of all house robbers
have either committed murder, or won't hesitate to commit murder. |
| Only 17% of house robbers are
foreigners. |
| Of all arrested robbers, 90% had no
matric or were unemployed. The 10% who had been employed, gave up their
jobs when confirming how much they could "earn" from a robbery. |
| Most victims or targets are affluent
persons who openly display their wealth, e.g. expensive cars, jewellery, up market
homes. |
| Much intelligence is gathered about
the target home and its residents by means of inside information supplied
by domestic workers. |
| Eight out of ten residential robberies
are committed with the help of information from domestic workers,
gardeners and former employees. |
| The robbers will monitor the home and
movements for as long as is needed to formulate a plan of attack -
sometimes up to two weeks. |
| All gangs research and monitor the
response times of armed response companies. |
| Most attacks occur between 19:00 and
midnight as people are relaxed, busy cooking or watching TV, and the
security systems and beams are not activated. But robberies continue until
04:00 in the morning. |
| The biggest deterrent confirmed by
robbers themselves, are small dogs that are kept inside the home. |
| Alarm systems and armed reaction
services are not considered a deterrent. Electric fences, closed-circuit
TV (CCTV) and detection beams do, however, deter robbers. |
| An average of R5 000 is stolen during
each robbery. |
| Surprisingly, victims of house
robberies are only seriously injured in 2% of all incidents. |
| 35% of robbers robbed for basic needs
(hunger, poverty), while 65% enjoyed the money and spent it on clothes,
cars, etc. |
| The average robber commits 103
robberies over seven years before being caught. |
| A staggering 97% of all robbers are
armed, and on average there are four members in an armed robbery gang. |
| Most attackers' homes or bases are a
10 to 30 minute drive from the target address. |
| Women are more often tortured or hurt
during house robberies. |
| The conviction rate for house
robberies in South Africa is only 7,67%. In the USA it is 53%. |
