This study examines the drivers of violent property crime in South Africa, emphasizing the interplay between socioeconomic inequality, historical structural legacies, institutional weaknesses, community dynamics, and organized criminal networks. The research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of these factors and to develop evidence-based recommendations for multi-stakeholder crime prevention strategies. Violent property crime remains a persistent challenge in South Africa, despite policy interventions and law enforcement efforts. Structural inequalities, the spatial legacies of apartheid, ineffective policing, slow judicial processes, and fragmented community structures contribute to high crime rates (Seekings, 2020; Mabuza, 2018; Von Holdt, 2021; SAPS, 2023). Existing studies often isolate individual factors, limiting holistic understanding and undermining the design of integrated crime prevention strategies. The study adopts a systematic approach, combining integrating classical criminological theories (strain theory, social disorganization theory, routine activity theory) with contemporary studies (2020–2024) on property crime in South Africa. Secondary data analysis: Examining crime statistics and socio-economic indicators from SAPS, UNODC, and local studies. Thematic synthesis: Identifying recurring patterns and drivers of violent property crime across multiple levels—structural, institutional, community, and organized crime networks. Socio-economic inequality and poverty are primary motivators of violent property crime. Historical spatial legacies concentrate crime in marginalized urban areas. Institutional weaknesses including underresourced policing and slow prosecutions undermine deterrence. Community dynamics such as weak social cohesion and fragmented informal networks exacerbate vulnerability. Organized crime networks exploit systemic weaknesses, intensifying the frequency and severity of property crimes. The study offers a multi-level analytical framework integrating structural, institutional, community, and organized crime perspectives. It provides stakeholder-specific recommendations for government, police, justice departments, community leaders, NGOs, and religious institutions, emphasizing collaborative, evidence-based strategies to reduce violent property crime. Effective reduction of violent property crime in South Africa requires holistic, integrated interventions that address socioeconomic inequalities, historical disadvantages, institutional inefficiencies, community vulnerabilities, and organized criminal activities. The research contributes to knowledge, informs policy and practice, and supports coordinated multi-stakeholder efforts to enhance public safety, social cohesion, and sustainable crime prevention.