Residential robbery is on the rise in South Africa.

According to the 2007-2008 crime statistics, residential robbery is up 14.5 %. It is estimated that, every day, almost 40 homes are invaded by armed robbers.

Yes, we are not talking about petty theft here. Gone are the days when a “robbery in your home” consisted of some clothes being ripped off the washing line, or some paint being stolen out of the garage.

Now armed gangs are entering our homes and are more dangerous then ever.

Residential robbery is differentiated from residential burglary in that it is classified as a crime in which armed individuals enter a private residence by force with the intent to rob.

Dr Johan Burger, a senior researcher for the crime, justice and politics programme at the Institute for Security Studies, told Sunday Independent, that the annual increase in the rate of house robberies poses an immense threat to our personal security.

"We are under siege," he said.

Residential robbery is a relatively new category of crime, listed separately in the police's crime statistics for the first time in 2002.

"It used to be a sub-category of aggravated robbery. It was smallscale when it started out. But as this type crime grew it began to attract the attention of the police, and the need to record it as a separate crime type became a necessity," said Burger.

“During the first year residential robbery was defined, 9 063 cases were recorded and since then the figure has grown steadily, with 14 481 incidents logged for 2007-2008.”

What will it be next year? Who knows?

But at the rate it is going, we can only expect it to get worse, unless something drastic is done to curb it.

One such way is a review of our criminal justice system.

However, we have been waiting for years for that to happen.

The fact is, according to Buger, “The arrest and conviction rate for this crime is low - criminals aren't scared. The chance of getting away with this kind of crime is very high.”

So, I guess, all we really can do now is arm ourselves - install new security devices and join community safety initiatives.

Sad, isn’t it?

I kind of feel like a “sitting duck”!