Interpol warns about organised crime threat in SA

With SA’s major cities ranked as the most crime-ridden on the continent – Pretoria at number two, Durban at number three, Johannesburg at number four, Port Elizabeth at number eight and Cape Town at 16 – Interpol’s Dr Jurgen Stock has said more needs to be done to ensure stability of communities. The Star report says Crime Index by City 2024 (Numbeo’s crime index) has also revealed that Pretoria is the second most dangerous city in the world while Johannesburg is ranked fourth. Stock, during his meeting with National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola in Pretoria, said organised crime is a threat to the stability of communities. ‘Organised crime constitutes a threat to national security. Organised crime syndicates are becoming stronger, day by day. They are becoming more international and more complex. An urgent response is needed as they are threatening our communities, businesses and even our planet,’ he said. The Numbeo’s crime index uses factors such as poverty, limited educational access, and economic inequality as key contributors to the severity of crime as residents are forced to resort to criminal activities as means of survival. The crime rate is calculated as the number of offences per capita per year, offering insights into the safety of a particular area, while the index categorises crime levels as moderate, high, and very high.