1	National Victim Study 2003 Institute for Security Studies 3 March 2004
2	Why conduct national victim surveys? To find out more about crime levels: supplement police crime statistics first national survey in SA since 1998 To better understand the nature of crime: help to compile risk profiles for specific crime types victims provide info in a format they best understand To track public perceptions of crime & its impact: measure the fear of crime and perceptions of safety help assess the impact of crime on behaviour To track public opinion on what is being done about crime measure views of police and court accessibility & performance
3	Methodology Survey conducted: 1 Sept -15 Oct 2003 by Development Research Africa (DRA) Sampling Random selection of households across SA 4 860 randomly selected individuals ≥16 years Sample stratified by province & area type (urban\rural) Weighting Race, gender & economic status Effect of weighting to reflect actual composition of population
4	Demographics Sample realised = 4 860 Race African 70% White 15% Coloured 13% Indian 2% Gender Female 53% Male 47%
5	Demographics: province
6	Demographics: urban\rural
7	Demographics: age
8	Demographics: monthly household income after tax
9	Crime rates in SA - results cover: The percentage of people who were victims of crime Rates of reporting by victims to the police Level of satisfaction among victims with police when reporting How these 2003 data compare to the 1998 national victim survey conducted by UN, Stats SA & the Department of Safety & Security
10	Victim surveys: notes about crime rates Questions are asked about individual & household experiences of crime - not crime against businesses Respondents may have different understandings about what constitutes a crime Some crimes are under recorded by victim surveys - as they are by the police - such as domestic violence, sexual assault, fraud, corruption Victim surveys do not generally collect data on murder Victim surveys do not collect data on ‘victimless crimes’ like drug related crimes
11	Crime rates in SA, 2003 23% of all SA’s had been a victim of crime in the past year Property crimes occur more frequently than violent crimes - the 5 most prevalent crimes are non-violent < 1% victimisation rates were recorded for murder, sexual assault, car hijacking
12	Crime rates in SA, 2003 & 1998 24.5% of all SA’s were victims in 1998 ±2% drop in the crime rate between the 1998 & 2003 victim surveys This suggests that crime, as measured by the victim surveys, has levelled off since 1998
13	Reporting of crime to the police, 2003
14	Comparative reporting rates, SA 1998 & 2003
15	Victims who were satisfied with police service when reporting specific crimes, 2003
16	Victims who were satisfied with police when reporting, 1998 & 2003 surveys
17	Public perceptions of crime & safety - results cover: Has crime in your area gone up or down? What crimes do you think are most common in your area? What crimes are you most scared of in your area? How safe do you feel walking during the day and at night in your area? Who do you think commits crime in your area, and why do they do it?
18	Views on how crime level has changed in area, in past 3 years
19	Views on how crime level has changed in area, in past 3 years
20	The one type of crime that people think occurs most in their area
21	One crime that people are most afraid of in their area
22	How safe people feel walking in their area during the day
23	How safe people feel walking in their area during the day, 1998 & 2003
24	Feelings of safety during the day, by race, 2003
25	How safe people feel walking in their area at night
26	How safe people feel walking in their area at night, 1998 & 2003
27	People who feel safe walking alone in their areas at night, ICVS 2003 city surveys
28	Views on perpetrators of crime 29% of SA’s know someone who makes a living from crime in their area 36% coloureds, 32% blacks, 17% Indians & 7% whites Race & province trends suggest poorer people are more likely to know someone who makes a living from crime But most people don’t think criminals are motivated by ‘real need’
29	People who know someone in their area who makes a living from crime, by province
30	Views on why people commit property & violent crime
31	Views on perpetrators of crime (cont) 64% believe crime is committed by ‘people living in the area’ Very few (only 4%) believe foreigners are responsible for crime
32	Summary How safe do South Africans feel? Feelings of safety have declined markedly since 1998 (& are low compared to other countries) Despite this, it is encouraging that nearly half of SA’s do not believe crime has gone up in past 3 years Those most concerned about safety & crime are: People in metros followed by urban areas Indians, followed by whites
33	Summary What do people worry about? People are more likely to think property rather than violent crime has increased Despite this, most SA’s worry about violence (particularly those in farming areas) Concerns about violence are evidenced by the fact that people think robbery & murder are much more prevalent than they are in reality On the whole, public views about which crimes occur most often are accurate
34	Summary Views on perpetrators of crime Many SA’s know people who make a living from crime in their area Given this, it is notable that ‘real need’ is not identified by most as the reason why people commit crime - in other words, committing crime is largely believed to be a matter of choice Crime in a particular area is generally believed to be committed by locals Very few attribute crime to foreigners
35	Impact of crime - results cover: Have you ever witnessed a murder? Does the level of crime in your area prevent you from engaging in certain activities?
36	Witnesses to murder 14% of all SA’s over 16 yrs have personally witnessed a murder at some time in their life 15% of blacks (3 320 355) 12% coloureds (321 535), 9% whites (303 176) & 4% Indians (34 564) said they had seen a murder 53% were 16-25 years at the time 52% knew the victim - of these, most were neighbours or friends
37	‘The level of crime in my area prevents me from…’
38	Views on the state’s response to crime - results cover: Access to police & views on performance Access to courts & views on performance Perceptions about victim support ‘What one thing should government spend money on to make your area safer?’
39	Access to the police 97% know where the nearest police station is Of these, 66% say station is <30 mins away; 23% between 30-60 mins Access is better in urban areas & more urbanised provinces than rural & farming areas & rural provinces Access is better for whites than for blacks 46% of all SA’s visited their nearest police station in last 3 years & 32% had other official contact with police
40	How often police are seen on duty, in uniform, in area
41	People who see police in uniform, in their area, once a day, by province
42	Views of police performance: How are views affected by actual contact with police? Of those who said their opinion of the police changed after making contact, 54% reported an improvement, 35% said it got worse, 12% unchanged People in Free State, W Cape & N Cape most likely to report improvement Significant racial variation: black (63%), coloured (46%), white (34%) & Indian (9%) reported improvement
43	Views of police performance: ‘how are the police doing in your area?’ 52% of SA’s think police are doing a good job in their area; 44% say bad job These views differ according to: Province & urban/rural area Race: blacks, coloureds & whites much more positive than Indians Views of changing crime level: 65% of those saying crime decreased say ‘good job’ compared to 44% of those who say crime increased Feelings of safety: 66% of those who feel very safe walking after dark say ‘good job’ compared to only 46% of those who feel very unsafe
44	Those rating police performance as ‘good’, by province
45	Rating of police performance according to how often they are seen on duty
46	Views of police performance in area, by settlement type
47	Views of police performance in area, by race
48	Why police are doing a good job
49	Why police are doing a poor job
50	Summary: police Access to the police is generally good, but remains a problem in rural areas & for black SA’s A small majority think the police are doing a good job, but these views are influenced by a range of factors, not all of which are about policing Results based on rates of reporting crime to police are mixed: rates have increased for several crime types, but have dropped for an important crime like robbery Of those who did report, more victims were satisfied with way police handled their case in 2003 than in 1998
51	Summary: police (cont) Visibility of police does not appear to have changed much since 1998 Increasing police numbers & visibility per se will not necessarily make people feel safer, although it will probably improve public confidence in the police The metros are key focus areas given the highest levels of fear of crime & lowest ratings of police in these areas. Of the ‘metro provinces’, KZN seems most in need of attention, followed by Gauteng
52	Access to the courts 84% of SA’s over 16 yrs know where the nearest magistrate’ court is 51% say it takes <30 mins to get there using usual mode of transport; 32% 30-60 mins Access better in urbanised than rural provinces 22% had been to court in last 3 yrs
53	People who say it takes < 30 mins to reach magistrate’s court
54	Views on court performance Of those who have been to court, 70% were satisfied with overall performance By comparison, when all respondents were asked if courts generally are performing well, only 59% said ‘yes’ Those least likely to say courts performing well: The ‘metro provinces’: Gauteng, KZN & W Cape Whites & Indians, most of whom said courts are not performing well
55	People who think courts are performing ‘adequately’, by province
56	Reasons for being satisfied with how courts deal with perpetrators
57	Reasons for dissatisfaction with how courts deal with perpetrators
58	Summary: courts As with access to the police, physical access to courts is generally good Although access is better in metro/urban provinces, satisfaction is lowest in these areas As other studies have shown, views of court performance are much more favourable among those who have been to court than among the general public Sentencing is the key issue about which the general public form their opinions of courts - both positive & negative
59	Knowledge of victim support services
60	Places to take victims of violent crime for counseling
61	Places to take victims of rape & violent crime
62	Summary: victim support Police & medical services are seen as key sources of assistance for victims of violence - no matter what type of help is needed This is not surprising & highlights the importance of: Training police & medical officials in how to assist & refer victims Systems of referral Collaboration between state & non-state agencies providing victim support Locating one-stop support centres at police stations or hospitals
63	One thing government should spend money on to make my area safer
64	One thing government should spend money on to make area safer from violence, by race
65	Acknowledgements Donors: Royal Danish Embassy & IDRC Research & analysis team: Patrick Burton, Anton du Plessis, Ted Leggett, Antoinette Louw, Sibusiso Masuku, Duxita Mistry, Robyn Pharoah, Makubetse Sekhonyane, Boyane Tshehla & Hennie van Vuuren Stakeholders: representatives from SAPS, Departments of Social Development & Justice, NPA, UNODC, UNISA, Secretariat for Safety & Security Survey company: Development Research Africa