Law and Order Index: South Africa ranks among war-torn countries

South Africa scores dismally on the latest Gallup Law and Order report, stuck between Liberia and Mexico at the lowest quarter of the global safety index.

The Worldwide Law and Order Index is a survey conducted each year aimed at ascertaining just how safe citizens feel in their country of origin. The international survey gathers information from 148,000 adults in 142 countries.

Law and Order Index: Questions asked

The fundamental method involved in calculating ‘safety’ revolves around a simple question and answer interview. The questions are:

• In the city or area where you live, do you have confidence in the local police force?
• Do you feel safe walking alone at night in the city or area where you live?
• Within the last 12 months, have you had money or property stolen from you or another household member?
• Within the past 12 months, have you been assaulted or mugged?

While it may come as no surprise to South Africans that their country is deemed ‘unsafe’, what may be an eye-opener to some, is just how unsafe the country really is, and how untrustworthy law enforcement appears to citizens.

Within the global context, more than two in every three people worldwide say they have confidence in their local police (69%) and feel safe walking alone at night where they live (68%).

Safety in South Africa

On the lower end of the scale, South Africa rests uneasily at sixth place, amongst countries like Afghanistan, South Sudan and Liberia; countries which have been ravaged by on-going wars.

According to the data released by Gallup, only 31% of South Africans feel safe walking alone at night in their communities.

Only 60% of South Africans have any confidence in the police force entrusted to uphold law and order.

South Africa scores a total of 58 (out of 100) on the safety index. The only countries where residents feel less safe are:

• Liberia – 56
• Gabon – 55
• South Sudan – 54
• Afghanistan – 45
• Venezuela – 44

The safest countries in the world

While South Africa rests at the bottom of the pile along with other African countries, and a few South American states, let’s take a look at the opposite end of the spectrum; the safest countries in the world:

• Singapore – 97
• Norway – 93
• Iceland – 93
• Finland – 93
• Hong Kong – 91

Gallup comments on the presence of African and Latin American countries being on the bottom end of the scale, saying:

“Among the 10 countries in which residents are least likely to say they feel safe walking alone at night, five are in Latin America. Another four are in sub-Saharan Africa — including two of that region’s more economically developed countries, South Africa (31%) and Botswana (34%).”