Crime in

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

, falls under the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs who oversee the

Zimbabwe Republic Police The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) is the national police force of Zimbabwe, having succeeded the British South Africa Police on 1 August 1980. History The predecessor of the Zimbabwe Republic Police was the British South Africa Police of ...

and the Ministry of Justice.Ministries Overview
''

Bureau of Consular Affairs The Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) is a bureau of the United States Department of State reporting to the under secretary of state for management. The mission of the Bureau is to administer laws, formulate regulations and implement policies rel ...

'' The majority of crimes are non-violent, common crimes include robbery and "smash and grab" break ins.

Non-political crime

Although the majority of crimes in Zimbabwe are non-violent, perpetrators are generally armed with weapons, which can include firearms. The downtown sector of

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

and its high density residential suburbs are particularly high-crime areas. A number of American visitors have been assaulted or robbed while walking in the town of

Victoria Falls Victoria Falls (Lozi language, Lozi: ''Mosi-oa-Tunya'', "Thundering Smoke/Smoke that Rises"; Tonga language (Zambia and Zimbabwe), Tonga: ''Shungu Namutitima'', "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River, located on the border betwe ...

, especially after dark. Purse-snatchers will often work in teams of two, with one person acting as a diversion. A typical mugging involves a group of young males who surround and overwhelm their victim in a public area. Cell phones are of particular interest to local thieves. A popular crime committed in Zimbabwe is the "smash and grab," in which thieves break the windows of cars stopped at intersections and take items from inside the car. Zimbabwean criminals also use ploys to lure drivers out of their cars. In one ploy, an assailant will slash a tire and then offer to help with the flat, particularly on the road to

Harare International Airport Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport (), (known colloquially as "RGM", or Harare Airport) and formerly known as Harare International Airport and Salisbury Airport, is an international airport in Harare, Zimbabwe. It is the largest airpo ...

Political crime

The forcible removal of 700,000 people from slums in Zimbabwe in 2005 was called "a

crime against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

" by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and several other agencies. Zimbabwe's government created

Operation Murambatsvina Operation Murambatsvina (''Move the Rubbish''), also officially known as Operation Restore Order, was a large-scale Zimbabwean government campaign to forcibly clear slum areas across the country. The campaign started in 2005 and, according to U ...

as an urban clean-up campaign to remove illegal structures, though it was criticised for its demolitions of shops and homes. Human rights groups proposed taking Zimbabwe to the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. In the

Corruption Perceptions Index The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index that scores and ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as assessed by experts and business executives. The CPI generally defines corruption as an "abuse of entr ...

2007, Zimbabwe was ranked 150th out of 179 countries for corruption (least corrupt countries are at the top of the list).Corruption Perceptions Index 2007
''

Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil s ...

'' On a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 the most corrupt and 10 the most transparent,

rated Zimbabwe 2.1.

Law enforcement

The Zimbabwe Republic Police's (ZRP) law enforcement capabilities have deteriorated in recent years.Zimbabwe 2008 Crime & Safety Report
''

Overseas Security Advisory Council The Bureau of Diplomatic Security, commonly known as Diplomatic Security (DS), is the security branch of the United States Department of State. It conducts international investigations, threat analysis, cyber security, counterterrorism, and pr ...

'' Due to Zimbabwe's economic struggles, the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

lack sufficient funding to maintain and operate equipment and/or train and equip personnel. It is hard for the police to respond to emergencies. In the case of criminal activity, the police usually need to be provided transportation to perform any investigative function, and criminal incidents must be reported in person to the nearest police station. They tend to be apathetic towards investigating crime, and focus their resources on political acts, especially demonstrations. However, in 2007 Zimbabwe's crime rate for illegal border crossing,

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

stock theft Cattle raiding is the act of Theft, stealing live cattle, often several or many at once. In Australia, such stealing is often referred to as duffing, and the perpetrator as a duffer.Baker, Sidney John (1945) ''The Australian language : an examin ...

poaching Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the huntin ...

and

illegal mining Illegal mining is mining activity that is undertaken without state permission. Illegal mining is the extraction of precious metals/rocks without following the proper procedures to participate in legal mining activity. These procedures include pe ...

had declined by 64 percent, 54 percent, 32 percent, 31 percent, and 5 percent respectively. Innocent Matibiri, Police Deputy Commissioner in Charge of Operations, credited the lowering of this figure to the Support Unit for recovering various firearms, which had been used in armed robberies, murder crimes and lethal weapons.

References

{{Crime in Africa