NCJ Number
79475
Journal
Humanitas Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: (1979) Pages: 39-45
Date Published
1979
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Findings are presented from a crime victimization study conducted in Soweto, South Africa.
Abstract
A random sample was drawn from 13 of the 27 townships in Soweto, and 1,528 homes in the townships were visited to determine the number and nature of victimizations. The crimes about which inquiry was made were in the categories of face-to-face primary victimization (common assault, aggravated assault, robbery, and rape) and non-face-to-face primary victimization (theft). Of the total sample, 432 respondents (276 males and 156 females) of 10 years or older were found to have been victims of at least 1 crime in the aforementioned categories within the 12 months from February 1974 to January 1975. The crimes most often committed were robbery (40.1 percent), aggravated assault (28.6 percent), and common assault (17.7 percent). The total number of crimes committed against the respondents was 980. Analyses show that 60.2 percent had been victimized once, while 28.7 percent had been victimized twice, and 11.1 percent had been victimized three or more times. About 27 percent of the total number of crimes committed against respondents were reported to the police. About half stated they did not report the crime because they did not believe the police could apprehend the offenders, and a significant percentage believed the police would not bother to investigate the matter. Data also reported on the day, time of day, and place of the crimes. Findings are compared with similar studies in other countries. Tabular data and 52 references are provided.