Crime and perceptions after a decade of democracy

Abstract

crime, crime trends, fear of crime, public perceptions of crime, violence,

Social Work Values and Principles: Students' Experiences in intervention with Children and Youths in Detention

“…As discussed earlier, the crime rate in the country is high and a large number of people are victims of crime. Citizens do not feel safe (Louw, 2007) and being victims of crime and daily reminders of incidences of crime by the media contribute to feelings of traumatisation (Wardrop, 2009;MacRitchie & Leibowitz, 2010). Zastrow (2012, p. 45) refers to the ecological approach that conceptualises 'dysfunctional transactions between people and their social and physical environments'.…”

“…South Africans feel less safe and more insecure than people in other developing countries; either having been victims of crime or fear of becoming victims, combined with daily reminders of incidences of crime by the media, contributes to feelings of traumatisation (Louw, 2007;Wardrop, 2009;MacRitchie & Leibowitz, 2010). People in South Africa are direct or indirect victims of crime (Scho¨nteich & Louw, 2011;Bezuidenhout, 2013) and social work students are no exception, illustrated by the following remark by a female social work student aged 22: I walked back from campus.…”

Quality of Life in Post-Apartheid South Africa

“…Similarly, we established that colouredswho feared crime were more optimistic than black Africans who feared crime. Although a study by Louw (2007) did not assess QOL, it showed that race and LSM played a significant role in predicting perceptions of crime. For instance, 'Indian and white people, and those with higher incomes, were more worried about crime and safety issues than black Africans and coloureds, or those in the lowest income brackets' (Louw, 2007, p. 250).…”

“…Our findings overwhelmingly showed that of those predictor variables included in the study, fear of crime, satisfaction with basic Y. D. DAVIDS AND F. GAIBIE services, and LSM were the most important determinants of QOL across all three of the components (happiness, life-satisfaction and optimism). 27 These results were not surprising if we consider that national surveys have consistently shown that crime, basic services and economic issues such as living conditions (LSM), poverty and unemployment have been reported among South African citizens as some of the most important problems for the government to address (Afrobarometer, 2006;Louw, 2007). In addition, we believe that respondents' perceptions of their QOL were a reflection of South Africa's economic situation during 2008.…”

Women Who Kill in Post-Apartheid South Africa: A Content Analysis of Media Reports

“…This translates to approximately 15,759 murders and 14,994 attempted murders during this period. Concerns around crime have been salient in discussions about South Africa's transition to democracy, with many having the perception that violent crime has increased post-1994 (Louw, 1997(Louw, , 2007. Although data indicates that the murder rate in South Africa has decreased by 54% since 1994 (Lancaster, 2013), violent crime still has a significant impact on the lives of many South Africans (Louw, 2007).…”