Is Belhar Safe? 42/100 Safety Score (2026)

Belhar scores 42 out of 100 on StreetSignal’s safety index - Moderate reported crime. Every Belhar extension, from Belhar Ext 1 through to Belhar Ext 23, falls under the same Belhar SAPS precinct and receives a score in the same range. The precinct recorded 6,664 annualised crimes across a station population of 70,237 residents. The trend is up.

A note on methodology: StreetSignal’s safety index is a relative measure comparing reported crime across Cape Town’s 744 suburbs; it is not an absolute safety guarantee. The index is a composite of two sub-dimensions: harm-per-resident (rate) and absolute harm volume. A score of 42/100 means approximately 42% of Cape Town suburbs have a higher reported crime burden by this methodology. Belhar’s rate sub-index is 50/100 (moderate per-capita harm) and its volume sub-index is 35/100 (moderate-to-high absolute harm). Full methodology is documented on the StreetSignal methodology page. Data period: Q3 2025/2026 (October-December 2025).

Why do all Belhar extensions share the same precinct data?

Belhar was developed in phases from the 1980s onwards, with each phase registered as a separate sub-place: Belhar Ext 1, Ext 2, and so on up to Ext 23. These extensions are contiguous - together they form one residential area - but the City of Cape Town’s spatial data treats them as distinct administrative units.

SAPS assigns policing jurisdiction at station level, not sub-place level. The Belhar police station covers the entire area. Because the crime data is precinct-wide, every Belhar extension receives a score computed from the same underlying data. Individual extensions may differ slightly in their composite score due to population share weighting, but they all reflect the Belhar precinct’s crime profile.

Why does Belhar score 42 out of 100?

The Belhar precinct recorded 6,664 annualised crimes across its station population of 70,237 residents in the Q3 2025/2026 data period (October-December 2025).

StreetSignal’s CHI composite safety index combines two sub-dimensions using a geometric mean:

• Sub-index A (harm rate): Belhar scores 50/100 - per-capita harm is moderate, near the city median
• Sub-index B (harm volume): Belhar scores 35/100 - absolute harm volume is moderate-to-high

The composite places Belhar in the Moderate reported crime band. The rate sub-index of 50 means per-capita harm is roughly at the median for Cape Town suburbs. The volume sub-index of 35 reflects the fact that 6,664 annualised crimes is a significant absolute count, driven in part by the precinct’s large population.

What types of crime occur in Belhar?

The most notable category in Q3 2025 is drug-related crime: 158 incidents, up sharply from 83 in Q3 2024 - a near-doubling that is the primary driver of the upward trend. Drug-related enforcement data reflects both criminal activity and policing intensity; an increase can indicate increased enforcement as much as increased crime.

Contact crime is present at moderate levels. The precinct recorded 5 murders (up from 4), 9 attempted murders (down from 12), 5 rapes (down from 6), 74 common assaults (down from 88), and 43 assault GBH (up from 36) in Q3 2025. Aggravated robbery declined from 42 to 28 incidents.

Residential burglary stood at 26 incidents (up marginally from 25). General theft recorded 56 incidents (down from 66). Theft from motor vehicles declined from 23 to 20 incidents.

Weighted crime harm rose from 1,547 in Q3 2024 to 1,666 in Q3 2025 - a 7.7% increase that accounts for the upward trend classification.

What does property cost in Belhar?

Belhar’s property profile varies between extensions, reflecting the staged development of the area. Belhar Ext 13 has a median municipal valuation (GV2022) in the R200-400k band with 558 residential properties. Belhar Ext 1 sits in the R400-600k band. Belhar Ext 5 shows a higher profile in the R1-1.5M median band, reflecting later-phase development with more formal housing.

The variation between extensions reflects different development eras and housing typologies across the same broad neighbourhood. Municipal valuations reflect general property value, not current asking or sale prices.

For a broader property analysis, see Cape Town property values 2026.

How does Belhar compare to nearby suburbs?

Suburb	Precinct	Safety index	Rate	Volume	Annualised crimes	Trend
Belhar Ext 13	Belhar	42/100	50	35	6,664	Up
Belhar Ext 1	Belhar	47/100	53	42	6,664	Up
Bellville South	Bellville South	91/100	98	85	4,012	Up
Elsies River	Elsies River	65/100	64	67	13,940	Up
Modderdam	Ravensmead	55/100	52	59	9,900	Up
Bishop Lavis	Bishop Lavis	11/100	21	6	18,180	Stable
Ravensmead	Ravensmead	15/100	28	8	9,900	Up
Uitsig	Ravensmead	13/100	20	9	9,900	Up

The Northern Suburbs corridor shows considerable variation. Bellville South scores 91/100 (Lower reported crime), the strongest performer in Belhar’s immediate vicinity. Elsies River scores 65/100 (Moderate reported crime) with 13,940 annualised crimes - more than double Belhar’s count, but distributed across a larger population.

Bishop Lavis scores 11/100 (Higher reported crime) with 18,180 annualised crimes - the starkest contrast to Belhar in the immediate area. Ravensmead and Uitsig also fall in the Higher reported crime band. The upward trend is common across most suburbs in this corridor.

Is Belhar safe for families?

Belhar’s 42/100 safety index with an upward trend places it in the Moderate reported crime band - not among the safest suburbs, but meaningfully distinct from adjacent Higher reported crime areas like Bishop Lavis (11/100) and Ravensmead (15/100).

Contact crime is present but the precinct recorded declining aggravated robbery (42 to 28) and the murder count (5) is modest relative to the 70,237 station population. The dominant upward pressure comes from drug-related crime enforcement, not from contact crime categories.

For the full crime breakdown by category, property distribution, and school details for each extension, see the individual suburb profiles - starting with Belhar Ext 1 on StreetSignal. For how Belhar fits into the broader safety picture, see the safest suburbs in Cape Town 2026 and Cape Town crime statistics by suburb 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Is Belhar safe to live in?

Belhar scores 42/100 on StreetSignal’s safety index - Moderate reported crime - with 6,664 annualised crimes across a station population of 70,237. The trend is upward, driven primarily by drug-related crime. The 42/100 is a relative measure comparing reported crime across Cape Town’s 744 suburbs, not an absolute safety guarantee.

Why does every Belhar extension have a similar safety score?

All Belhar extensions fall under the jurisdiction of the Belhar SAPS police station. SAPS publishes crime data at precinct level, not sub-place level. Because the precinct is shared, every extension receives a score computed from the same underlying data. Individual extensions differ in property values, schools, and infrastructure - see each extension’s profile for those details.

How does Belhar compare to Bishop Lavis for safety?

Belhar scores 42/100 (Moderate reported crime) while Bishop Lavis scores 11/100 (Higher reported crime) with 18,180 annualised crimes. Bishop Lavis records nearly three times Belhar’s crime volume across a larger population of 118,121 residents.

What is the median property value in Belhar?

This varies by extension. Belhar Ext 13 has a median municipal valuation in the R200-400k band. Belhar Ext 1 sits in the R400-600k band. Belhar Ext 5 is in the R1-1.5M band, reflecting later-phase development. Municipal valuations reflect general value, not current asking prices.

Is crime increasing in Belhar?

Yes. The trend direction is Up, with weighted crime harm rising from 1,547 to 1,666 between Q3 2024 and Q3 2025 (a 7.7% increase). The primary driver is drug-related crime, which nearly doubled from 83 to 158 incidents. Aggravated robbery declined (42 to 28).

Search Belhar Ext 1’s full neighbourhood profile on StreetSignal for the complete data across safety, property, schools, and household conditions.