South Africa is often ranked among the world’s most dangerous countries, yet according to data released by Stats SA in August, only about seven percent of households can afford the services of private security companies.

From a sample of 27 000 households, 22% said they trust the police enough to protect them; 27% feel there’s nothing they can do about protecting themselves and take no security measures, while 17% said they don’t have the money to take security measures.