Executive Summary

An important way of measuring the impact of crime upon society is to assess the public’s attitudes to punishment. The results of the attitudes to punishment survey — based on 470 interviews and eleven focus group discussions, conducted in the Eastern Cape in mid-1999 — present some interesting results. While most respondents took a fairly punitive approach on the issue of punishment for criminals, responses varied considerably between urban and rural respondents, and respondents of different race groups.

The survey revealed that, on average, every third adult inhabitant of the Eastern Cape became a victim of crime within a two-year period. Most crimes were reported to the police, but less than a third of respondents who did so were satisfied with the police’s response. While rural respondents were least likely to report crime to the police, they were twice as likely to be satisfied with the police compared to their urban counterparts. Crimes reported in rural areas were the most likely to end up in court. Rural crime victims, however, were least likely to be satisfied with the outcome of the court proceedings.

Many respondents were ignorant of the role and purpose of the criminal justice system, and the different functions of its component parts (police, justice and prisons). Most respondents overestimated the increase in crime since 1994, and the proportion of crimes involving violence.

Only a minority of respondents felt that the criminal justice system was performing well or had improved since 1994. Most respondents were critical of the government’s crime-fighting performance. Urban and white respondents were the most critical of the government’s performance, while rural and black respondents were the most positive. Most respondents thought that the courts are independent and impartial. However, only a minority of black respondents felt that this was the case. A quarter of respondents felt that politicians should influence courts’ judgments and sentencing decisions. In their evaluation of the various professions that form part of the criminal justice system, respondents were most critical of prison officials and uniformed members of the police. They were most praising of judicial officers and police detectives.

Most respondents thought that judicial officers should be responsible for punishing criminals. However, a sizeable minority — especially among rural respondents — felt that the police or the community should punish criminals. There was substantial support among rural and black respondents for alternative or traditional forms of punishment. Respondents were equally divided on the issue of vigilantism and whether it was something negative, or something to be welcomed because of the criminal justice system’s perceived failure. Most respondents felt that there had been a countrywide increase in vigilantism since 1994. While one out of twenty respondents admitted to having personally participated in vigilante activity, every fifth respondent said he or she would consider doing so.

A substantial majority of respondents thought that sentences were too lenient, and that lenient sentences played a major role in the increase in crime since 1994. Three-quarters of respondents were in favour of a reintroduction of the death penalty for persons convicted of the most serious crimes.

Respondents were presented with brief descriptions of a number of crimes and asked to impose a sentence on the perpetrators of the described crimes. Respondents became considerably less punitive once they were given some information on an actual crime. Respondents were particularly lenient when it came to punishing persons who had been convicted of vigilante type crimes.

Just over half of the respondents supported the provision of free legal aid to accused persons who cannot afford their own legal representation. Most thought it is important that the criminal justice system respects accused persons’ constitutional rights. About three-quarters felt that it is important that the criminal justice process ensures that no innocent people are convicted of crimes, even if it means that some guilty people will walk free.

There was overwhelming support for forced manual labour for convicted prisoners who had committed serious crimes. Most respondents thought that juveniles should be treated differently and more benignly by the criminal justice system, but that corporal punishment for juveniles should be reintroduced as a punishment in law.

Respondents had an overall negative view of the efficacy of imprisonment. A minority thought that prisoners are helped to become law-abiding citizens. Most felt that prisoners learn new ways to commit crime while incarcerated. About a quarter of respondents thought that prison was not a punishment for offenders. Most felt that the most important goal of prison should be rehabilitation, followed by punishment and the removal of criminals from society.

Compared to their male counterparts, female respondents were consistently more punitive in their attitudes to sentencing and the goals of prison. They were also less concerned with protecting the rights of the accused and of convicted offenders.