An overview of serious and violent crime in South Africa Prof. Rudolph Zinn College of Law

THE FOCUS OF THE PRESENTATION TOTAL NUMBER OF REPORTED CRIMES MURDER (Homicide) ROBBERY WITH AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCES UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF ‘RURAL CRIME’ (UNDER) REPORTING OF SELECTED RURAL CRIME

Total number of crimes reported to SAPS (20 categories) Reported by public: -9.08%

THE PROBLEM WITH CRIME IN SOUTH AFRICA PLACED IN PERSPECTIVE Very violent nature of some of the crime Extreme violence or excessive force used (more than what is required to overcome resistance during a robbery) Contact crime or contact related crime is disproportianate; and Represents about 40% of all serious crime reported to SAPS annually Copyright

- VIOLENT CRIME IN SA IN COMPARISON - INTERNATIONAL ‘YARDSTICK’ NEEDED TO MAKE AN OBJECTIVE COMPARISON Murder (Homicide) used for this purpose Victims of Crime Survey: Stats SA: 95% of murder are reported by community (little underreporting) Copyright

MURDER (HOMICIDE) AS INTERNATIONAL YARDSTICK United Nations report : Global Study on Homicide (2013) covers 219 countries until 2012 Global homicide rate per 100 000 = 6.2 Southern Africa and Central America as sub-regions have the highest rates in the world with more than four to five times the global rate Murder rate in SA: 34 per 100 000 (15/16) (five times global rate) Robbery with aggravating circumstances rate in SA: 132,5 per 100 000 (15/16) Copyright

United Nations office on drugs and crime report on Homicide Statistics (2013) * Ranking globally Copyright

Murder ratios from 1994/95 to 2015/16 (Per 100 000)

ROBBERY WITH AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCES (BAROMETER OF VIOLENCE IN SA and/or LACK OF INTELLIGENCE LED POLICING?)

Robbery with Aggravating Circumstances (including hijacking, house and business robbery; CIT) +31% Copyright

Trio crimes reported to SAPS

Street robbery (national) + 32%

RURAL CRIME DISPLAY UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS THIS MUST INFORM INTELLIGENCE LED INTERVENTIONS BASED ON UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS PER GEOGRAPHICAL AREA UNIQUE INTERVENTIONS REQUIRED PER AREA AND PER CRIME Copyright

VICTIMS OF CRIME SURVEY 2015/2016 (Published in 2017) HOW DO WE KNOW CRIME DIFFERS PER GEOGRAPHICAL AREA (i.e. Urban vs Rural)? VICTIMS OF CRIME SURVEY 2015/2016 (Published in 2017) Copyright

IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF MURDER Crime Statistics Series Volume III; Exploration of selected contact crimes in South Africa; In-depth analysis of Victims of Crime Survey data; 2011 – 2014/15. Publication date: 04 May 2016 Discusses circumstances around murder, which could have happened during housebreaking [house robbery], hijacking or assault (including domestic violence, rape or in any other situation). Copyright

Distribution of victims of murder by settlement type and the nature of weapons used, VOCS 2014/15 Copyright

Source of households’ knowledge about the perpetrator by settlement type, VOCS 2014/15 Copyright

Perceived age group of the murder perpetrators by settlement type, VOCS 2014/15 Copyright

Age group of the perpetrators of murder by their relationship to the victim(s), VOCS 2014/15 Copyright

Motive behind murder by age group of the perpetrator(s), VOCS 2014/15 Copyright

Alcohol/drugs as a motive behind murder by settlement type, VOCS 2014/15 Copyright

HOW ACCURATE ARE THESE NUMBERS? Copyright

VICTIMS OF CRIME SURVEY: STATISTICS SA REPORT RELEASED IN 2016 33 000 HOUSE HOLDS SURVEYED UNDERREPORTING OF CRIME: Theft of crops: 82,7% Theft of livestock: 70,7% Burglary: 46,6% House Robbery: 34% Murder: 5% Based on SAPS stats alone: 57 house robberies per day (20 820) If combined with Stats SA: possibly 86 per day (31 545)

CONCLUSION South Africa is still burdened with an exceptional high crime rate Serious and Violent crime is on the increase Real Intelligence Led policing required (per area per crime) Align SAPS intelligence unit with international best practices Short term prevention – “layers of security” Be vigilant Get involved in CPF’s and community initiatives Make sure everything is done in accordance with the law Prevent frustrated ‘vigilante’ reaction Long term prevention Address reasons why people get involve in crime (holistic approach) Copyright

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Get involved in “out-reach programs” that will help to change attitudes and values Foundation for Safe South Africa (FSSA) Youthzones (http://www.youthzones.co.za) 44 sites 45 000 youth members

Prof Rudolph Zinn Professor of Policing and Forensic Investigation College of Law, School of Criminal Justice University of South Africa (UNISA) E-mail: rzinn@unisa.ac.za Tel: +27 (0)12 433 9417 Copyright