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APPENDIX A

OVERVIEW OF QUESTIONS ASKED IN THE VICTIM SURVEY


Published in Monograph No 101, July 2004

National Victims of Crime Survey
South Africa 2003

Patrick Burton, Anton du Plessis, Ted Leggettt, Antoinette Louw, Duxita Mistry, Hennie van Vuuren

 

 

Additional questions asked about crimes

 

Theft of car – type of car, what security measures did the car have

Burglary – were items stolen, was anyone at home, additional security added

Theft out of car – what was stolen

Robbery – did victim resist, what was taken

Hijacking – type of car, inside or outside vehicle, alone or in company at the time

Assault – prior attacks, pressurised not to report

Sexual assault – classification of incident, awareness of help available after incident

Murder – how many died, victim a source of household income, relationship to victim, part of ongoing problem

Theft – what was stolen, when realised

Theft of livestock – type of livestock stolen

Theft of crops – type of crops taken

Damage to buildings – what buildings were damaged

Damage to motor vehicles – what part of vehicle was damaged

 

Crime and safety

 

Feelings of safety after dark

Feelings of safety during day

Have levels of crime changed (all, property, violent)

Type of crime that occurs most in area

Type of crime most feared in area

Who commits most of the crime

Activities not undertaken because of crime in area

Recent conversations about crime

 

Police and courts

 

Knowledge of police stations

Length of time taken to get to nearest station

Contact with police/visits to station

Impact of visit on opinion

Reporting of crimes witnessed

Visibility/frequency of police visibility

Opinions of police performance and service

Knowledge of courts

Length of time to nearest court

Contact with nearest court

Opinions of courts

Knowledge and opinion of Operation Crackdown

 

Community and official response to crime

 

Government spending priority for property and violent crime

Community group activity in dealing with crime in area

Support for and participation in community groups

Witnessed community group trying to arrest a suspect

Use of violence against suspects by community groups

Knowledge of community police forums

Participation in community police forums

Measures taken to protect self/home

Experience as witness of murder (age at time, knowledge of and relationship to victim)

 

Community cohesion

 

Knowledge of neighbours

Willingness to let neighbours watch children

Willingness to let neighbours watch house

Participation in community activities

Knowledge of criminals in community

 

Corruption

 

Experience of requests for bribes in form of money, gift or service from public official

Details of department/service, when and response to request or implication

Views on change in level of corruption

Ever asked for a bribe from private sector when applying for employment

Reporting of corrupt officials

 

Victim support and other interventions

 

Knowledge of where to take someone for medical service if raped, for counselling if victim of violent crime, victim of domestic violence, for financial support, and to get information on how to prevent becoming a victim of crime

 

Personal and household information

 

Gender

Age

Ethnicity

Location

Relationship to h/h head

Marital status

 
 
Occupational status
Income (monetary)
Income (in kind)
H/H expenditure
Length of time in area
Housing type
 
 
Source of water
Sanitation
Ownership of house
Ownership of vehicles
Main language
Schooling

 

Knowledge of loss to HIV/AIDS

 

Personal knowledge of young people who have lost a caregiver to HIV/AIDS

Age of individual

With whom they stay most of the time