New Index ranks SA at the bottom end for ability to maintain law and order
It’s been a pretty grim week in the news for South Africa and it’s about to get worse. A new index ranks SA at the bottom of the pile for maintaining law and order and its citizens feeling safe.
The Gallup Global Law and Order Report for 2015 has given South Africa a rank rating. The Index gauges people’s sense of personal security in their daily lives, as well as their personal experiences with crime and law enforcement. SA ranks 138th out of 141 countries.
The sample group survey is comparatively small – around 1000 adults in each country. The surveys were done in 2014, before the latest South African crime stats were released. The questions were pretty simple:
- 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?
Overall, the report showed that around the world, around 60 percent of people have faith in the police force in their country and 63 precent feel safe walking alone at night. But out of the South Africans surveyed just 31% said they felt safe walking around at night. Congo (30%), Gabon (29%) and Venezeuela (22%) were the only three countries were a lower percentage of people felt safe walking around alone at night. Even Afghanistan had a higher rate (34%) of people feeling safe when walking around alone.
Paraguay, South Sudan, Gabon, Botswana, Bolivia and Afghanistan were the countries to rank below South Africa in the law and order index.
