Statistics South Africa P0341

Victims of Crime Survey, 2013/14

3. Summary of the key findings

3.1 Public perceptions about crime and safety

Perceptions about crime and safety differed according to several factors. While four in ten of households in South Africa believed that the level of both violent and non-violent crime had increased in their areas of residence during the period 2010 to 2013, slightly more than 30% said that crime had decreased. More than six in ten (61,6%) households perceived housebreaking/burglary to be one of the most common types of crime, followed by home robbery (43,4%) These two crimes were also the most feared amongst households.

People are affected by crime in different ways, and therefore their perceptions about crime also differ. Between April 2013 and March 2014, about 86,5% of households felt safe in their areas during the day, while 65,1% felt unsafe when it is dark. More than a third of households (34,7%) avoided going to open spaces unaccompanied because of their fear of crime, while about a quarter would not allow their children to move around unsupervised by an older person or play freely in their areas.

3.2 Views about criminals

Approximately 63% of households believed that property and violent crimes were likely to be committed by people from their area. About 32% believed that crimes were committed by people from other areas, while about 6% thought that the perpetrators of crime in their neighbourhoods were people from outside South Africa.

About 75% of households thought that criminals were more likely to be motivated by drug-related needs, as opposed to being motivated by real need (45,4%), greed (42,7%) or non-financial motives (29,1%). Western Cape had the highest percentage of households who thought crime was committed because of drug-related needs (85,2%) followed by Eastern Cape (83,0%) and Gauteng (80,6%).

3.3 Public perceptions about crime prevention and response to crime

Half of the households in South Africa took physical measures to protect their homes, while more than a quarter took measures to protect their vehicles. Only 5,2% of households carried a weapon to protect themselves and their property. Approximately two-thirds of households in Gauteng and Western Cape indicated that they took physical protection measures to protect their homes.

When asked about what they thought the government should to combat crime, 64,1% of households were of the view that social and/or economic development was the more effective way of reducing crime. About twenty per cent of households indicated that resources should rather be focused on law enforcement, while an estimated 15,6% felt that resources should be allocated to the judiciary/courts in order to effectively reduce crime.

Households were also asked if they knew where to take a victim of crime to access medical help, counselling or shelter. The vast majority (92,3%) of the households knew where to take someone to access medical services if they fell victim to violent crime.

3.4 Public perceptions of law enforcement

The proximity to the nearest police station to report crime occurrences was also a consideration when the public shared their perceptions of law enforcement in their areas of residence or areas where the crime took place. Most households (65,6%) travelled less than 30 minutes (when using their usual mode of transport) to the nearest police station.

More than 60% of households were satisfied with the way in which police and courts were doing their work. This view may have been influenced by factors such as the time it took for police to respond to a crime, visible policing, conviction rates, and sentencing of perpetrators. Households who were satisfied with the police in their area felt that the police come to the scene of the crime (78,0%) and were committed (73,7%).

More than 60% of households saw a police officer in uniform patrolling in the area at least once a day or once a week, while about 20,5% were likely to see the police patrolling at least once a month. Western Cape (80,4%) followed by Gauteng (80,3%) had the highest rate of police patrolling at least once a day or once a week.

3.5 Crime levels in South Africa

Housebreaking/burglary (4,7%), home robbery (1,6%) and theft of livestock (1,4%) were the commonly experienced by households during the period April 2012 to February 2014. Theft of personal property was the most common crime experienced by individuals aged 16 years and older (2,4%).

The extent to which crime is reported the police may vary across different crime categories; crimes that bear the most financial loss tended to be more frequently reported than those that had minimal financial implications. VOCS 2013/14 shows that all incidents of car hijacking were reported to the police (100%), while about 91,7% incidents of car theft were reported. Theft of crops (12,2%) were least likely to be reported to the police.

Amongst those who did not report crime to the police, some indicated that they reported to a traditional authority, a local gang, Community Policing Forum, insurance company, private security, local ward councillor or local vigilante group.  3.6 Overview of selected crime types

Corruption

More than 70% of households believed that corruption had increased during the period 2010-–2013. Over three- quarters of households thought people were involved in corruption to get rich quickly (76,9%). Bribes were commonly paid in order to speed up procedures (37,9%), followed by receiving better treatment (23,0%) and to avoid traffic fines.

Vehicle related crimes

Most car-related crimes occurred when vehicles were parked at home. About 72% of the households reported that incidents of theft from cars occurred at home, while 10,2% indicated that they occurred on the street in town. Amongst the cars that were stolen, 67,1% were stolen at home, while 13,9% were stolen on the street in a residential area and 9,8% on a street in town. Theft from cars (60,1%) and car theft (47,7%) mostly occurred at night.

Housebreaking/burglary

Most housebreaking/burglary incidents occurred at night (49,2%), followed by afternoon hours (22,8%) and morning hours (20,4%). Northern Cape (68,3%) had the highest percentage of housebreaking/burglary incidents that occurred at night, followed by Limpopo (63,9%) and Free State (62,9%). The most popular method of entry used by perpetrator(s) during housebreaking/burglary was through a door (40,7%) followed by through a window (36,1%).

Assault and sexual offences

Assault and sexual offences may be difficult to capture in a household survey because of their sensitivity, as a result they are normally under-reported. The results show that about 25,1% of sexual offence victims (16 years and older) were victimised by their relatives, followed by a known community members from their area (24,0%). Approximately 34,2% of assault victims were victimised by a known community members, while 16,8% were assaulted by their spouses or lovers.

The full document can be accessed here - PDF.

Issued by StatsSA, December 4 2014

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