Known issues and data limitations

Precinct-level data limitation

SAPS publishes crime statistics at precinct level. Cape Town has 57 police precincts covering 744 suburbs. All suburbs within a precinct share the same safety score, regardless of how different their actual crime conditions may be.

This means a quiet residential suburb and a gang-violence hotspot can receive identical scores if they fall within the same precinct. To mitigate this, 14 suburbs are excluded from positive rankings where precinct averaging is known to produce misleadingly optimistic scores.

See precinct confidence overrides for the full list and methodology.

Subplace population matching

Census 2022 sub-place data matches 510 of 738 suburbs (69%). The remaining 228 suburbs use fallback population estimates derived from WorldPop raster data or equal-share allocation across the precinct.

Most unmatched suburbs are small estates, numbered extensions, or recently proclaimed areas that did not exist as distinct sub-places in the 2022 census geography. Per-capita crime rates in these suburbs carry additional uncertainty.

Under-reporting

All safety scores reflect reported crime only. StatsSA's Victims of Crime Survey (VOCS) indicates that only 44.1% of housebreaking incidents are reported to police nationally. Reporting rates vary by crime type, community, and the relationship between residents and local police.

Under-reporting is likely higher in communities with lower police trust or where informal justice mechanisms are preferred. This means that safety scores in some suburbs may overstate actual safety conditions.

Seasonal data

Current data covers Q3 2025/2026 (October to December 2025), which corresponds to Cape Town's peak summer season. Coastal and tourist suburb crime patterns are typically elevated during this period due to higher visitor numbers and seasonal population shifts.

Annual data would give a more balanced picture. StreetSignal will incorporate year-round averages as additional quarters become available.

Suppressed suburbs

14 suburbs have suppressed safety scores. Suppression is applied when the precinct population is too small for reliable per-capita calculation, when data is pending review due to known distortions, or when a precinct is predominantly non-residential.

Suppressed suburbs display a clear notice on their profile page explaining why the score is withheld. See suppression criteria.

Data vintage

StreetSignal combines datasets published on different schedules. The table below shows the currency of each source.

How to report an issue

If you believe a suburb's data is incorrect or a limitation is not documented here, contact [email protected]. Include the suburb name and a description of the issue. We review all submissions and update this page when new limitations are confirmed.