National Victims of Crime Survey South Africa 2003

The National Victims of Crime Survey South Africa 2003, conducted by the Institute for Security Studies, examines crime prevalence, public perceptions of safety, and the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. The report finds that while overall victimisation rates dropped slightly between 1998 and 2003, public feelings of safety declined significantly, with housebreaking being the only crime type to increase in prevalence.

• Public feelings of safety in South Africa declined sharply between 1998 and 2003, with the proportion of people feeling very unsafe at night increasing from 25% to 58%. Perceptions of crime increases varied by location and race: 61% of those in metropolitan areas and 78% of Indians believed crime had increased, compared to 43% in farming areas and 48% of coloureds.
• Overall crime rates measured by victim surveys decreased slightly from 24.5% in 1998 to 23% in the period between September 2002 and August 2003. Housebreaking was the only crime type that increased over the five-year period and was the most prevalent crime, affecting 7.5% of households.
• Petty corruption is a significant issue, with 5.6% of South Africans asked for a bribe in the past year, most commonly by traffic officials. Reporting of corruption is extremely low, with only 2% of respondents attempting to report a corrupt official due to beliefs that it would not change anything or a lack of knowledge on how to report.
• There is a significant reliance on the state for protection, though perceptions of police performance are mixed; 52% believe the police are doing a good job, with response time being a primary influencing factor. Additionally, vigilante justice is a concern, with estimates that nearly 1.5 million South Africans have witnessed violent punishments by community protection groups.
• Robbery is highly feared and discussed but has a relatively low actual occurrence rate of approximately 2%. Home robberies are a specific concern, with projections suggesting nearly 90,000 occurred nationwide during the 12-month survey period.

APA

Burton, P., Du Plessis, A., Leggett, T., & Louw, A. (2003). National Victims of Crime Survey South Africa 2003. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-101-national-victims-of-crime-survey-south-africa-2003-patrick-burton-anton-du-plessis-ted-leggett-antoinette-louw-du

Chicago

Burton, Patrick, Anton Du Plessis, Ted Leggett, and Antoinette Louw. National Victims of Crime Survey South Africa 2003. Institute for Security Studies, 2003. https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-101-national-victims-of-crime-survey-south-africa-2003-patrick-burton-anton-du-plessis-ted-leggett-antoinette-louw-du.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Burton |first1=Patrick |last2=Du Plessis |first2=Anton |last3=Leggett |first3=Ted |last4=Louw |first4=Antoinette |title=National Victims of Crime Survey South Africa 2003 |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=2003 |url=https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-101-national-victims-of-crime-survey-south-africa-2003-patrick-burton-anton-du-plessis-ted-leggett-antoinette-louw-du |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{burton2003national, author = {Burton, Patrick and Du Plessis, Anton and Leggett, Ted and Louw, Antoinette}, title = {{National Victims of Crime Survey South Africa 2003}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2003}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-101-national-victims-of-crime-survey-south-africa-2003-patrick-burton-anton-du-plessis-ted-leggett-antoinette-louw-du}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }