90 Day Fiance tends to dramatize quite a few things in order to bring us an entertaining show and to keep the ratings high. So when Tiffany and Ronald went apartment hunting but kept talking about crime in South Africa and how to stay safe, many couldn’t help but wonder if it’s really that bad.
After all, Tiffany wouldn’t drag her young son all the way across the world without doing a bit of research, would she?
In one scene, we see Tiffany and Ronald checking out an apartment that would have worked well for them. Ronald really likes it but Tiffany is freaking out about the fact that it’s not only gated, but also boasts electric fencing around the perimeter of the complex to keep criminals out.
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The rental agent who was showing them properties during the episode kept playing up safety, talking up the prison-esque electrified barbed wire sitting above high walls that surrounded the complex. And while the prospect of living inside a gated, electrified community seemed like a great idea to Ronald, Tiffany just couldn’t get over the way it looked and also worried about the safety of Daniel, whom she thought might try to touch it.
Home security or food?
In that same episode, Tiffany was still reeling about crime in South Africa and the quality of life there, due to extreme security measures that some may take, when Ronald brought up paying for an alarm company to monitor wherever they end up.
Again, Tiffany balked at the idea. She was worried about the cost of hiring a company to keep them safe because she was worried that, with their limited income, it would come down to paying for their safety or being able to buy food.
With so much emphasis on their safety during the latest episode of 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way, we took a look at crime rates in South Africa and whether it’s really as bad as what we saw on the TLC series.
The truth about crime in South Africa
Tiffany and Ronald live in Randfontein, a gold mining city in the province of Gauteng in South Africa. A report released in September 2018 examining crime rates from April 2017 through March 2018 for Randfontein show that that instance of some crimes have increased while others have decreased.
Of the crimes that increased during that year, as compared to the year before, murder rose in the area by 11.9 percent. Also alarming was the increase in sexual offenses (21.2 percent), assault (17.6 percent), sexual assault (60 percent) and rape (19.8 percent).
Crimes that have decreased the most over that same time period include arson, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and drug-related crimes.
When comparing crime rates between South Africa and the U.S. as a whole, South Africa appears much more dangerous. While the U.S. is number one in the world for gun-related crimes, the murder rate in South Africa is still much higher than in the U.S. In fact, when comparing the murder rates per million people, there are eight times more murders in South Africa than in the United States.
When it comes to crime in general, South Africa reports a rate that is 55 percent higher than the entire United States and ranks sixth in the world.
So it looks like Tiffany Franco has the right to be worried about safety in South Africa. And while Cape Town is listed as one of the most dangerous cities in the world, it’s worth noting that South Africa is not in the top 10 most dangerous countries. The top “honor” for that category goes to Syria, where Tiffany’s co-star Avery is hoping to live.
90 Day Fiance: The Other Way airs Mondays at 9/8c on TLC.