The Bigger Picture: What the National Victims of Crime Survey findings tell us about victims of crime Conference International & National Perspectives on Crime and Criminal Justice Pretoria, South Africa 3 February 2012

Overview General Crime Levels VOCS Background and Methodology Perceptions of Crime and Safety Perceptions of Support Services Perceptions of SAPS and Courts Research Implications 2

SAPS: 20 most serious crimes recorded (1994/95 – 2010/11) 3

The 2010 Statistics SA VOCS - Objectives The Victims of Crime Survey (VOCS) series is a countrywide household-based survey and has three main objectives: The nature, extent and patterns of crime in South Africa, from the victim’s perspective; Victim risk and victim proneness, to inform crime prevention and public education programmes; People’s perceptions of services provided by the police and the courts as components of the criminal justice system pdf pdf 4 Source: Statistics SA, 2011

2010 VOCS - Methodology Population: All private households & workers’ hostels in all 9 provinces 3080 Primary Sampling Units (PSU) Probability Proportional to size (PPS) 29,754 households ultimately selected January to March 2011 Asked about victimisation levels between January to December 2010 Limitations: over-estimates, under-estimates for sensitive incidents, memory recall, understanding of definitions 5 Source: Statistics SA, 2011

National Victimisation Surveys Perceptions of Crime Levels Source: Statistics SA,

National Victimisation Surveys Feelings of safety Source: Statistics SA,

Knowledge of Victim Support Service Source: Statistics SA,

Knowledge of Medical Services of Victims of Violent Crime Source: Statistics SA,

Knowledge of Places of Safety for Domestic Violence Survivors Source: Statistics SA,

Victims of Crime Surveys Satisfaction with police Source: Statistics SA,

12 Public Confidence in Policing 60.7% of SA households indicated that they would contact SAPS first to come to their rescue when needed 82.4% of households' views of the police improved after having official contact with them 64.6% of households were satisfied with the way police dealt with crime in their area Therefore, 1 in % were dissatisfied Source: Statistics SA,

13 Reasons for Satisfaction (65%) 78.9% - Police are committed 77.9% - Police come to the scene of the crime 72.1% - Police arrest criminals 70.8% - Police are trustworthy 54.5% - Police respond on time 38.5% - Police recover stolen property 9.1% - Other Note: Multiple Response Question Source: Statistics SA,

14 Reasons for Dissatisfaction (35%) 68.1% - Police do not respond on time 56.2% - Police are lazy 46.6% - Police are corrupt 42.5% - Police do not come to area 41.0% - release criminals early 39.3% - Police never recover goods 36.5% - Police do not have enough resources 32.8% - Cooperate with criminals 28.4% - Harsh towards victims 4.6% - Other Note: Multiple Response Question Source: Statistics SA,

15 Knowledge of Courts 90% Knew where the nearest magistrates court were 64,7% of the households indicated that they were satisfied with the way the courts did their work 51,8% thought that courts passed appropriate sentences 29,8% indicated that courts achieved a good conviction rate 17,9% praised the courts because they were not corrupt Source: Statistics SA,

Research Implications True need and impact can be measured on the larger society not only on victims through the system More analysis relating to the needs and experiences of victims can be done once the data set becomes available Could lead to more targeted public awareness of availability and location of support services VOCS and other victim specific data sets can provide improved systematic quantitative and qualitative empirical research Better analysis and coordination of information can lead to the following on a national, provincial and local level for all support organisations: Improved analysis and understanding of the reality of victims Better planning and policy development to minimise challenges to victims Greater impact assessment potential Also to be used in funding proposals Source: Statistics SA,

The Crime Hub 17

Online Crime Map Viewer Assault GBH totals 18

Public facilities: Sandton and Alexandra police precincts

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