Key findings 59% of people in Durban were victims of at least one crime between 1993 and 1997. Women were more at risk of victimisation than men. African and coloured residents were more likely to be victims than Asians and whites in Durban. The youngest (16-25 years) and oldest (61+ years) city residents were more at risk of victimisation than the other age groups. Burglary followed by robbery/mugging were the two most prevalent crime types in the Durban metropolitan area. The risk of burglary was highest for Africans in 1997. White people in Durban were most at risk of car theft, followed by Asians and coloureds. Coloureds and Asians were most at risk of violent crimes aimed at property such as robbery and car-hijacking.

Other crimes involving violence such as assault, murder and sexual offences were more likely to happen to African and coloured people than anyone else in Durban.

The risk of becoming a victim varied considerably between crime types and among different residents of the Durban metropolitan area. Strategies aimed at reducing specific crimes should not therefore be applied generally, but should be targeted at specific groups of people living in particular areas.

In the city survey, respondents were asked whether or not they had been victims of crime over the past five years — between 1993 to 1997. Table 2 shows that 59% of people in Durban said they had been victims.

When asked about their experience of victimisation over a slightly different five-year period, comparative overall crime levels in South Africa’s other metropolitan areas were: 63% in Johannesburg, 54% in Pretoria and 49% in Cape Town.

Table 2 also provides a measurement of who was most at risk of victimisation:

Females were more at risk of victimisation than males.



Africans and coloureds faced an equal risk of becoming victims of crime. They were more at risk than whites and Asians and were more likely to be victimised than the general population. Whites were least likely to be victims of crime in Durban.



Of all the age groups, the young and the elderly were most likely to be victimised. They were also more at risk than the general population.

The chances of becoming a victim varied not only according to demographics but also according to particular crime types. Some crimes were more prevalent than others (table 3 and figure 2).

Figure 2 gives an indication of which crimes were most prevalent in Durban in 1997. Burglary and robbery were the most common crimes reported in the metropolitan areas. Similar trends were found in the other cities surveyed by the ISS. In Durban, levels of robbery/mugging, however, were comparatively high. The prevalence of robbery is cause for concern, particularly because this is the one crime type that has increased dramatically in the country according to police statistics: ‘common robbery’ increased by over 95% between 1994 and 1999 compared to 7% for all crime.14 Robbery also causes heightened fear of crime because it is violent, difficult to prevent and fairly random.

Three per cent of the city’s residents reported having been victims of car theft in 1997. In order to estimate the risk of car theft more accurately, however, vehicle ownership patterns must be considered. The national Victims of Crime Survey illustrated this well. The rate of car theft increased about four times when access to or ownership of cars was considered.15

One per cent of respondents said they had experienced car hijacking in 1997. This figure is probably a little inflated because the victim survey allowed responses from passengers and drivers of vehicles. This may have led to some overreporting in comparison to police statistics.

The figure for murder needs to be treated with caution. Table 3 shows that as many as 10% of people said someone in their household or immediate family had been murdered between 1993 and 1997. This is in all likelihood an overestimation. Respondents probably reported murders to the survey that happened to people outside of their immediate households (among their extended family) and beyond the time period covered by the survey.

Levels of sexual assault and harassment were in all likelihood higher than those reflected in figure 2. Few women were willing to talk about these crimes to any of the interviewers involved in the victim surveys conducted by ISS. These crimes are among the ‘hidden crimes’ that are rarely reported to the police or to general victim surveys such as this one.

The risk of particular crimes in Durban also varied according to race. Tables 4 and 5 indicate which people were most at risk of each crime type over the five-year period (1993-1997) and over a one-year period (1997). The latter should be regarded as more accurate since victims’ recollection of events is better over a shorter than a longer period.

Table 5 shows that the risk of burglary was highest for Africans, followed closely by white people living in Durban. Both tables 4 and 5 show that coloured people were least likely to be burgled.

White people in Durban were most at risk of car theft — followed by Asians and coloureds (table 5). This trend probably reflects the relative wealth of these groups compared to Africans living in Durban. Coloureds and Asians were most at risk of violent crimes aimed at property such as robbery and car hijacking. Other crimes involving violence such as assault, murder and sexual offences were more likely to happen to African and coloured people than anyone else in Durban.

The city victim surveys have shown that people in poorer communities (in the case of Durban, mainly African residents) are generally more at risk of violent crime than those in wealthier communities. Property crimes tend to affect those who are better off economically. The very wealthy usually experience less crime, however, because they can afford private security measures and alarm systems that the middle income groups cannot afford. The middle income groups are therefore vulnerable because they have property worth stealing, but are less able to protect themselves and their property from crime. These trends are borne out by the survey data in tables 4 and 5.

The data shows that the risk of becoming a victim varied considerably between crime types and among different residents in the Durban metropolitan area. Strategies aimed at reducing specific crimes should not therefore be applied generally, but should be targeted at specific groups of people living in particular areas. This data provides a broad indication of risk only. In order to reduce crime effectively for those who are most vulnerable, more information will be needed on the causes of these trends, as well as the specific characteristics of each crime type in the affected community. The factors that influence one particular crime are not always the same across areas and for all residents of those areas.