At some point we'll try to track down some comparative statistics. There must be some way of comparing apples with apples (or in this case bad apples with bad apples), such as crimes reported per 100 000 members of the population across various countries.
In the meantime the recent Police Report shows a good trend that is worth sharing. In 2009 the Royal Swaziland Police (RSP) saw a 6.2% decrease in crimes reported. This follows a 5.2% decrease in 2008 and a 1.8% decrease in 2007, a total of over 13% for the past 3 years.
Armed robbery is down 32.7%, car hijacking down by 34%, murder and culpable homicide by 13.8%, stock theft (we're talking about cattle here) down by 20.9%, house-breaking and theft by 4.6% and rape by 2.2%. Car theft (the passive non-hijacking variety) was up by 5.3%, as were drug offences by 2.5%.
So in short, if Swaziland had any reason to be perceived as a safe destination in the past, that perception can only be strengthened now.
Although "crime on tourists" is not a separately reported category, it is a topic that is discussed at the monthly Hotel & Tourism Association of Swaziland meetings, and again, from the relatively sparse reports of incidents, we'd hesitate a guess that our statistics in this sphere are going to be amongst the lowest in the world.
Why is this the case?
From an armchair perspective (which is a necessary disclaimer from any reference to official studies) there is a general feeling that Swaziland has lower crime for a few specific reasons:
1. Swaziland has no large cities. Large mega-cities appear to bring out the worst in humanity.
2. Swaziland does not have displaced communities - it is well settled. There have been no wars or internal refugees, nor apartheid style shifting of people - so the social structure of our various communities, urban and rural, is fairly well in tact.
People in our communities know each other, they keep an eye on each other, they report crimes. There is less opportunity for criminals to disappear into a nameless, faceless mass of people with no addresses or social linkages.
Long may this current trend continue. In the face of almost certain social challenges brought on by the devastation of HIV/AIDS and its decimation of family life, the current good news is worth embracing and internalising. That we, as locals, think of ourselves as a law-abiding society and Swaziland as safe, is the foundation of us actually achieving that.
So if you're thinking of visiting Swaziland, add this as a good reason to visit - we'll look after you - our national identity and reputations depend on it.
Statistics courtesy of the Times of Swaziland
