The Global Organized Crime Index 2023 has revealed South Africa as one of the worst countries in the world for organised crime, with 83% of the world's population living in conditions of high criminality. South Africa has performed particularly poorly, with both criminality and resilience scores worsening over the past year. The country is one of only three African countries in the high crime–high resilience category, along with Nigeria and Senegal.
South Africa has experienced a decade-long increase in criminality, undermining democratic processes through organized corruption and violence for hire. The country has several pervasive criminal markets heightened by the influence of criminal actors, many of which are embedded in the state, supporting criminal networks that are highly interconnected.
Quasi-criminal style networks or syndicates with transnational connections engage in various criminal activities such as drugs, fraud, stock theft, and armed robberies. The criminal economy is fuelled largely by networks with corrupt relationships. Organised criminal activities include drug trafficking, hits on armoured vehicles transporting cash, poaching syndicates, robbery, cell phone theft, metal dealers, and cable theft. Other crimes, such as vehicle hijackings, house robberies, business robberies, and kidnapping for ransom or extortion, are also carried out by such networks.
South Africa has a long history of corruption between state actors and criminal organizations, leading to widespread government and law enforcement mistrust. Corruption is pervasive across different state departments, including senior levels within prosecution and prison services. The political system has been accused of being a kleptocracy, damaging the image of the South African police and leading to a significant drop in trust from the public.
Foreign criminal actors, particularly from West Africa, South America, China, Pakistan, Israel, and southern and eastern European nations, have a strong presence in South Africa. These foreign actors play roles as 'interfaces', exerting moderate to substantial degrees of economic and financial power. South Africa is considered a haven for criminal mafias and bosses to launder money and establish companies for money laundering activities.
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