Introduction: With poverty and crime in South Africa increasing steadily, the assumption is often made that poverty is associated with exacerbated crime. However, this conclusion is regularly drawn using national poverty and crime statistics. It is also important to note that statistics linking poverty and crime are not presented per sex, as the prison population is biased towards men. Aim: The aim of this research was to test the assumption that poverty and crime are related when considering individual circumstances, and also to examine whether this relationship is influenced by sex. Context: Data was collected in South Africa, from all levels of society, and weighted to be representative of all parts of the population. Methodology: The cross-sectional data collected via the World Value Survey (N=3 531) was analysed by focusing on items describing poverty and respondents’ attitudes towards crime, specifically its justification. Analyses included descriptive statistics, tests of mean differences, correlations, as well as tests for moderated relationships. Results: The mean scores on poverty as well as the justification of crime were similar; more so for women than men. It was found that poverty, particularly food insecurity, more than income insecurity, was related to the justification of crime. At a practical level, sex did not significantly influence the relationship between poverty and crime. Conclusions: The assumption that poverty is associated with crime was affirmed; the practical effect was small, though. Sex did not affect this relationship in a practically significant manner. It may be assumed that poverty alleviation can influence criminal behaviour, although this hypothesis needs to be tested.

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