Guns
Any chance you are just a bit biased. To suggest that Jo'burg/midrand are places with normal crime levels is ludicrous.
Yes at shops / factory sites etc we have security guards (same as rest of the world)
Maybe shopping centres here have guards but they sure as hell don't carry shotguns.
but at houses - what utter bull
Perhaps individual houses don't, but they are inside walled compunds with guards and regular patrols. The house I lived in in Midrand had electric fences and guards. Ask my fellow student who was hit over the head with an iron bar for his shoes.
Stay out of known crime areas is good advice - unfortunately that applies to Gauteng. Get down to the coast instead.