The Johannesburg victim survey was initiated to gain an understanding of the levels of crime and violence in different communities within the Johannesburg Transitional Metropolitan Council (TMC). This entailed:

the collection, collation and synthesis of all existing and available research and information on generic types of communities (including demographic statistics) and residential areas located within Greater Johannesburg;



the development of broad profiles of the defined constituents, including some select demographic statistics such as age, gender, vocation and place of work and study; and



the identification of a ratio of victims to non-victims of crime by race and residential areas, and the development of the necessary sampling formulae to accommodate this.

Previous work in this field generally took the form of either face-to-face interviews in a controlled environment or postal surveys. Such survey techniques have advantages, but are both expensive and time consuming to administer. Given the financial constraints, it was decided instead to conduct a survey based on a street sample. The questionnaire was based on an interview schedule that had been applied in other countries (as part of the ICVS study) to enable a degree of comparison. International experts were consulted when designing the survey questionnaire. A street survey, given that it had never before been used to determine levels of victimisation, needed both careful testing and planning. This was done in a number of stages.

Stage 1

From the outset it was decided that the survey results should be analysed individually by race, gender, age and residential settlement type. In order to achieve this, a sub-sample size of not less than 30 people within each category was chosen. That meant that a total of 160 sample units were selected. Gender, race and age groups were identified for each sample and only people over the age of 16 years were included. It was agreed that 800 victims of crime would constitute a representative sample for the Johannesburg area.

To calculate the incidence of crime throughout Johannesburg, it was also necessary to identify and profile non-victims. This was done by administering a screening survey that captured the necessary demographic variables that would allow for comparative analysis.

Stage 2

It was decided that although the research could not be representative of individual Metropolitan Local Councils (MLCs) within the Transitional Metropolitan Council (TMC), it should represent the various area types within the metropolis. Since there are very few areas in Johannesburg that do not have a residential population, all geographic localities were included in the sample framework.

To target the correct types of sample areas, at least one sample point was selected to represent each residential generic typology (selected as suburb, township, inner city or informal settlement). In order to ensure that the selected sample points were dispersed across the entire metropolis and that all residential generic typologies were represented, a total of 20 primary sample points were identified.

Within each sample point, a number of secondary points were selected where interviews would be conducted. At least five secondary points were identified in each primary sample point. Secondary points included:

shopping and recreation centres (shopping malls, flea markets, corner cafes and stores, plazas, spazas, shebeens, sports grounds, public parks and major streets);



transport nodes (taxi ranks, bus stops, railway stations and parking lots);



education centres (schools, universities and technikons);



health and welfare centres (pension pay-out points, civic buildings, hospitals); and



residential areas (private homes, old-age centres, apartment blocks and informal settlements).

Within each secondary sample point, an interview referral point had to be identified. This achieved two objectives:

to allow the identification and selection of respondents; and


to provide an appropriate interview environment.

Finally, in order to limit any selection bias, the number of interviews conducted at each secondary sample point was restricted.

Stage 3

Three pilot studies enabled a refinement of the questionnaire. These studies indicated that most respondents wanted to participate in the study and that the duration of the interview (12-17 minutes), while longer than standard, did not reduce the response rate.

The pilot study confirmed that male enumerators could only interview men, while women could be used to interview both men and women. Of interest was the fact that cross-race interviews were undertaken with relative ease. This suggested that the issue of crime and violence transcends racial inhibitions. Despite this finding, however, and as a precaution, the race of the interviewers in the final survey matched that of the respondents.

The final pilot sample was undertaken by two teams of enumerators, one dressed in an identifiable `uniform', the other in ordinary casual attire. The success rate, both in terms of selecting respondents and the time taken to execute each sub-sample, was much higher among the former team. It was therefore decided that the field team would wear an identifiable `T-shirt', cap and bag all bearing the logo of DRA Development, the survey company.

An important component of the pilot survey was the construction of a respondent selection technique that would allow the enumerators to obtain their necessary quotas, while ensuring that the selection process was both random and rigorously implemented. Both during the pilot and actual fieldwork stage, `dummy' respondents, unknown to the enumerators, were used to ensure that these standards were being adhered to. As a further check, enumerators had to calculate the rate of flow of respondents (who roughly fell in the sample unit that was being targeted) at that specific referral point.

Stage 4

Fieldworkers were selected from a variety of sources, although all were Johannesburg residents. A half-day training course was followed by a number of training interviews in a controlled environment and in the field. In addition, the field teams participated in a one-day workshop on how to empathise with respondents who were victims, and cope with the potential stress of being involved in such a study. A similar exercise was undertaken during the debriefing session that followed the research process.

Stage 5

A total of 1 372 interviews were undertaken over an 18 day period in July 1997. The final completed sample was weighted for analytical purposes and totalled 1 266 respondents (see table below).

Respondents were asked whether they, or in the case of certain crimes, members of their household, had been a victim of crime over the five year period between 1993 and the time when the interview was conducted. The survey allowed for eight categories of serious crimes: burglary, car theft, car hijacking, mugging and robbery, assault, sexual incidents such as rape and sexual harassment, and murder. (Questions about murder were asked in relation to members of the respondent's household.) Respondents were also asked whether they had been victims of any other crime. Less serious personal thefts were largely captured in this category. Once identified, victims of crime were also asked about their perception of police performance, their feelings of safety, whether or not they made use of any type of assistance after being victimised, and what they thought the government could do to make Johannesburg safer. These results are presented in the discussions below.