FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE: South African crime trends in 2002

National and provincial police crime figures indicate that crime has, to a certain extent, levelled off in the course of 2002. Murder continues to decline, as does vehicle theft. However, the trends for car hijacking are less positive. Of all the provinces, Western Cape, Northern Cape and Gauteng featured prominently in most of the crime categories. The volume of interpersonal violent crime remains a cause for concern, which suggests that government intervention should expand its focus on crime prevention through social development.