Victims  of  Crime  Survey,  2015/16

Dr  Pali LehohlaStatistician-­General

Why  do  we  need  crime  statistics?

Safety NDP and MTSF Statistics

Crime creates anxiety in society and this has a negative effect on the quality of life and economic development.

Its reduction is therefore a priority on the national agenda

Chapter 12 of the National Development Plan lists crime reduction as a strategic priority.

The NDP envisions that people living in South Africa should have no fear of crime

One of the broad strategic outcomes of the MTSF (2014-2019) is: “All People in South Africa are, and feel safe”

In order to achieve the national strategic outcomes on crime, it is important to measure the levels, trends and patterns of crime and victimisation in SA

The South African Police Service and VOCS data provide complementary official sources of crime statistics in SA

About  the  surveyThe  Victims  of  Crime  Survey  (VOCS)  is  a  household-­‐based  survey  that  examines  crime  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  victims.  Focus  is  on  peoples  perceptions  and  experience  of  crime.  

VOCS  was  conducted  by  Statistics  South  Africa  (Stats  SA)  in  1998.  The  Institute  for  Security  Studies  (ISS)    conducted  the  2003  and  2007  versions  of  the  VOCS.  

Stats  SA  continued  to  run  the  survey  from  2011  onwards,  based  on  a  sample  size  of  approximately    30  000  households

VOCS  is  a  countrywide  survey  consisting  of  private  households  in  all  9  provinces  of  SA    

Objectives  the  survey

3

2

1 Explore the views households and crime victims have about crime

Explore public perceptions of the activities of the police, prosecutors, courts and correctional services

Provide complementary data on the level of crime in South Africa

Methodological  changesAdopted a Continuous Data Collection (CDC)

methodology by collecting data from April to March

VOCS 2011 - VOCS 2015/16Sample calibrated to the total population using population estimates based on 2014 series

The initial estimates were based on 2010 series

VOCS 2011 – VOCS 2015/16 were re-weighted to allow comparability over time

2011 2012 2013/14 2014/15

2015/16

2011  &  2012Data  was  collected  during  the  January-­‐March  period

Household’s & Individual’s Experience of crime

Percentage  distribution  of  households  who  experienced  at  least  one  incident  of  crime  by  type  of  crime

6,8% 6,9%

6,2% 5,7%

1,3%

0,8%

2011 2012 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16

House  breaking/burglary  and  home  robbery  has  consistently  been  the  most  prevalent  crime  experienced  by  households  in  South  Africa.  

931  000  incidents

807  000  incidents

Incidents  of  crime  by  type  and  year  experienced  by  selected  individuals in  households

2,5%

2,4%2,1% 2,0%

0,8%

0,7%

0,1%

0,7%

2012 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16

Theft  of  personal  property

Car  hijacking

Robbery

Sexual  assault

Assault

Consumer  fraud

Corruption

Although  theft  of  personal  property  steadily  declined  from  just  over  2,5%  in  2011  to  2,0%  in  2015/16,  it  has  consistently  remained  far  above other  types  of  crimes  throughout  the  years

Robbery

889  000  incidents

712  000  incidents

254  000 assault  incidents

Number  and  percentage  distribution  of  crime  experiences  and  reporting  rates

Car  theft  was  reported

Theft  of  crops were  under-­reported  crimes  at  

Murder was  reported  to  the  police

95% 90,9%

70,5% 80%

Household  crimes  that  were  reported to  the  police  

Household  crimes  that  were  under-­‐reported to  the  police  

Theft  of  livestock were  under-­reported  at

93,8%

89,5%

40,9%29,3%

18,4%17,3%

93,8%

95,0%

2012 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16

Percentage  distribution  of  incidents  of  crime  reported  by  households to  the  police

Murder

Car  Theft

Incidents of murder and car thefts were mostly reported to the police in the period under review, with a slight decline for murder reporting from 96, 0% in 2014/15 to 95,0% in 2015/16.

Theft  of  crops

Theft  of  livestock

Theft of livestock reporting also declined steadily from 40,9% in 2011 to 29,3% in 2015/16

Number  of  households  per  10  000  households,  who  reported  incidents  of  housebreaking/burglary  by  province

Households in Western Cape and Free State were most likely to report incidents of housebreaking/burglary to police

Households in North West Mpumalanga and Eastern Cape were least likely to report incidents of housebreaking/burglary to police.

Percentage  distribution  of  incidents  of  crime  reported  by  selected  individuals  to  the  police  (age  16+)

Theft  of  personal  property

80,6%

86,9%

Robbery

49,5%

35,5%

93,3%

48,6%

Consumer  fraud

2012 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16

There  was  a  sharp  decline  of  reporting  of  assault incidents  from  93.3%  in  2011  to  48,6%  in  2015/16.  

Individual  crime  tended  to  be  less  frequently  reported  to  the  police  than  household  crime

Car  hijacking  was  the  most  reported  individual  crime,  where  between  80%  -­‐100%  of  incidents  were  said  to  have  been  reported  to  the  police  during  the  period  2011  and  2015/16.  

Other  individual  crimes  saw   fairly  constant  reporting  rates

Individuals’  reasons  for  not  reporting  incidents  of    crime  to  the  police  per  crime  (selected)

The  most  cited  reasons  for  not  reporting  individual  crime  to  the  police  were  that  either  police  could  do  nothing or  police  won’t  do  anything  about  it

15%

8%

14%

11%

34%

29%

7%

11%

23%

35%

17%

14%

Theft  of  personal  property

Robbery Assault Consumer  fraud

Not  serious  enough

Police  could  do  nothing

Police  won't  do  anything

These  reasons  jointly  accounted  for  an  estimated  57,2%  for  theft  of  personal  property,  64,1%  for  robbery,  23,8%  for  assault  and  24,9%  for  consumer  fraud.  

Household's feelings about crime and their safety

Percentage  distribution  of  households’  perceptions  about  change  in  violent  crime  levels  in  their  areas

31,2%32,5%

41,2%43,6%

41,7%42,9%

38,2%

31,7%28,7%

28,1%25,5%

29,2%27,1% 27,6%

30,1%

2010 2011 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16

In  2015/16  most  households  (41,7%)  were  of  the  view  that  violent  crime  in  their  area  had  increased  in  the  last  three  years  as  compared  to  31,2%  for  in  2010

Households  stated  that  in  the  last  three  years  levels  of  violent  crime  has  increased.

LP46%

MP38%

KZN36%

EC44%

FS48%

NW47%

NC46%

WC52%

GP37%

Percentage  of  households  who  said  that  crime  had  increased  in  their  areas

South  Africa41%

Western  Cape  had  the  highest  proportion  of  households  who  

said  that  crime  increased  (52,2%),  followed  by  Free  State  

(48,0%)  and  North  West  (47,4%).  

Percentage  distribution  of  households’  perceptions  about  change  in  violent  crime  levels  in  their  areas

Gauteng  (33,6%)  and  KwaZulu-­‐Natal  (33,1%)  had  the  highest  percentage  of  households  who  felt  that  violent  crime  decreased  during  the  past  three  years.  

Perception  about  the  most  common  crime  in  SA

53%

Housebreaking/burglary

66%

59%

Home  robbery

39%Street  robbery

42%

Pick-­pocketing  or  bag-­snatching

18%

Assault

16% Murder 16%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

2011 2012 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16

House-breaking/burglaryis perceived as the most common crime in SA

Murder is perceived as the least common crime in SA

89,2%85,4% 86,8% 85,4% 83,7%

36,9% 35,9% 34,8%31,0% 30,7%

2011 2012 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16

Safe  during  the  day Safe  when  it  is  dark

When  do  households  feel  safe  in  their  area?

Between  2011  and  2015/16  there  was  significant  decline  of  the  percentage  of  households  who  felt  safe  walking  alone  in  their  area  of  residence  both  during  the  day  and  when  it  is  dark.

32,3%33,2%

21,0%22,6%

13,4%

15,4%

2011 2012 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16

Percentage  distribution  of  households  who  were  prevented  from  engaging  in  daily  activities  when  alone,  as  a  result  of  crime  in  their  area

Going  to  open  spaces  or  parks

22,6%of  households  were  prevented  from  allowing  children  to  play  outside  as  a  result  of  the  prevalence  of  crime  in  their  areas.

Households  were  prevented    from  going  to  open  spaces  or  parks  and  allowing  children  to  play  in  their  areas  without  adult  supervision  as  a  result  of  fear  of  

crime  throughout  the  period  2011  – 2015/16.

Views on why perpetrators of crimecommit crime

28,8%

43,1%

47,4%

76,7%

27,6%

42,1%

48,4%

77,5%

Non  Financial  Motives

Greed

Real  Need

Drug  related  need

2015/16 2014/15

Households’  perception  on  why  crime  was  committed

Reasons  for  committing  crime  remained  constant  during  the  last  five  years  with  drug  related  need  being  the  top.

Over  the  period  2014/15  and  2015/16    households  cited  drug  related  need  as  the  main  reason  why  crime  was  committed.

Type of weapons used by perpetrators of contact crime

Percentage  of  crime  incidents  by  the  most  common  types  of  weapons  used:  2013/14

CAR  HIJACKING ROBBERY ASSAULT

MURDER HOME  ROBBERY

75,5%

32,2%

36,9%

35,8%

51,5%

22,0%

49,7%

61,2%

49,7%

51,2%

The  report  shows  that  

guns were  the  most  commonly  used  weapon  by  perpetrators  of  carhijacking,robbery,home  robbery  and  murder.

Households’ response to crime

Measures  taken  to  protect  against  crime

49%51,2%

21,7%

29,1%31,5%

5,1% 5,5%

11,4%9,6%

6,2%

2011 2012 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16

About  half  of  the  households  took  physical  protection  measures  of  home  to  protect  themselves  from  crime

About  11,4% of  households  opted  to  acquire  private  security  services  to  protect  themselves  from  crime

Physical  protection  measures  of  home

Carrying  of  weapon

Experience with and perceptions about authorities

Time  it  takes  to  reach  the  nearest  police  station  using  their  usual  mode  of  transport

2014/15 2015/16

67,7%

25,1%

6,3%1,0%

64,6%

28,5%

5,9%

1,1%

The  pattern  shows  that  there  is  no  significant  difference  between  2014/15  and  2015/16.This  may  be  an  indication  that  the  time  it  takes  to  the  nearest  police  station  has  not  changed  between  this  period.  

Less  than  30  mins

Less  than  1hr  (but  more  than  30  mins)

Less  than  2hr  (but  more  than  1hr)

More  than  2hrs

87%

54%

66%

58%53% 55%

76%

64%

47%

65%

11,9

34,9

22,8

33,035,9 34,5

21,3

31,1

41,2

28,5

WC EC NC FS KZN NW GP MP LP RSALess  than  30  min Less  than  1  hr  (but  more  than  30  min)Less  than  2  hrs  (but  more  than  1  hr) More  than  2  hrs

In  all  provinces  except  Limpopo the  majority  of  households  are  able  to  reach  a  police  station  in  less  than  30  minutes.

Police  stations  are  most  accessible  in  the  Western  Cape  with  over  98% of  households  able  to  reach  a  police  station  in  less  than  an  hour

Time  it  takes  to  reach  the  nearest  police  station  using  their  usual  mode  of  transport  by  province

Percentage  distribution  of  households  who  saw  the  police,  in  uniform  and  on  duty,  in  their  area  of  residence

43,5%

33,1%

26,4% 27,2%

10,5%

13,1%12,5%

19,4%

2011 2012 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16

South  African  households  thought  that  during  the  period  2011  – 2016  police  visibility  has  been  declining.  

At  least  once  a  week

At  least  once  a  month

Percentage  of  household  satisfaction  with  the  police

64,2%

62,5%

59,4%

56,9%

58,8%

2011 2012 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16

The  was  a  dominant  decrease  in  household  satisfaction  with  the  police  throughout  the  years

There  has  been  a  decline  of  satisfaction  with  the  police  in  South  Africa  from  64,2% in  2011  to  56,9%  in  2014/15,  then  increased  to  58,8%in  2015/16.

Percentage  of  household  satisfaction  with  the  performance  of  the  courts

64,5% 63,4%

63,9%

54% 52,3%

2011 2012 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16

Household’s  satisfaction  with  courts has  seen  a  big  drop  since  2011.  

There  is  a  decline  in  the  percentage  of  households  who  are  satisfied  with  the  way  courts  are  dealing  with  perpetrators  of  crime  in  all  provinces  except  Limpopo.  

Western  Cape  displayed  the  lowest  levels  of  satisfaction  with  the  courts  (32,2%).  

2,7%

5,9%

6,6%

7,0%

16,1%

17,3%

43,6%

No  proper  notice  of  hearing  is  served

Some  people  get  preferential  treatment

Courts  are  corrupt

Not  enough  convictions

Perpetrators  released  unconditionally

Matters  drag  for  too  long/postponements

Courts  are  too  lenient  on  criminals

Reasons  for  being  Dissatisfied  with  the  way  in  which  courts  generally  deal  with  perpetrators  of  crime

A  high  percentage  of  households  who  indicated  that  courts  were  too  lenient  on  criminals  was  observed  in  Northern  Cape  (66,0%)  and  Free  State  (61,7%).

Most  common  reason  for  dissatisfaction  with  courts  is  courts  are  too  lenient  on  criminals

Perceptions on corruption

Percentage  of  services  for  which  bribes  were  solicited  from  households

0,4

0,7

1,0

1,1

2,9

3,8

6,5

6,8

8,5

11,4

12,2

13,8

14,4

16,4

When  visiting  a  prison

Revenue  services/customs

Medical  Care

Education/schooling

Water  or  electricity

Court-­related  services

Other

ID  documents/passports

Drivers  licence  

Housing

Social  welfare  grant

Traffic  fines

Policing

Employment/jobs

About  16,4  % of  households  thought  that  employment/jobswere  main  reasons  for  which  bribes  were  solicited,  followed  by  policing  and  traffic  fines

Perceptions  on  why  people  pay  bribes

1,9%

3,0%

3,9%

8,7%

22,7%

24,6%

35,3%

Other

Receive  information

Reduce  cost  of  procedure

Avoid  payment  of  fine

Finalisation  of  procedure

Receive  better  treatment

Speeding  up  procedure

More  people  pay  bribes  to  speed  up  procedures

At  provincial  level,  Free  State  (44,7%)  and  Kwa-­‐Zulu  Natal  (44,5%)  had  the  highest  proportion  of  households  who  thought  that  people  are  paying  bribes  for  speeding  up  procedures.  

VOCS  -­ SAPS  Comparison

*VOCS  estimates  are  derived  from  the  sample  and  when  comparing  them  to  SAPS  reported  cases  caution  must  be  exercised.

*Murder  is  statistically  a  rare  event  and  the  sample  is  not  big  enough  to  adequately  capture  it.

*Since  murder  questions  involve  family  members,  some  families  choose  not  to  respond  due  to  emotional  attachment/traumatic  nature  of  the  of  the  event.

VOCS  -­ SAPS  Comparison

Thank  you