NATIONAL VICTIMS OF CRIME SURVEY SOUTH AFRICA 2003

The 2003 National Victims of Crime Survey in South Africa, conducted by the Institute for Security Studies, provides a comprehensive analysis of crime levels, public perceptions of safety, and the performance of the criminal justice system. The survey indicates a slight decline in overall victimisation rates compared to 1998, though housebreaking increased. It highlights a significant gap between public perceptions—which often overestimate the prevalence of violent crime—and the reality of non-violent property crime. The report also documents widespread petty corruption, declining feelings of safety, and a reliance on state protection despite mixed views on police and court performance.

• Housebreaking was the most prevalent crime in South Africa and the only crime type that saw an increase in victimisation rates over the five-year period, rising from 7.2% in 1998 to 7.5% in 2003.
• Petty corruption is a significant issue, with 5.6% of South Africans reporting they were asked for a bribe in the past year. Traffic officials were the most frequent solicitors of bribes, and 100% of respondents asked for a bribe by traffic officials reported paying it.
• Robbery is highly feared but under-reported, particularly street robberies. The survey suggests that nearly 90,000 home robberies occurred annually, far exceeding the official police records of approximately 9,000.

APA

BURTON, P., DU PLESSIS, A., LEGGETT, T., LOUW, A., MISTRY, D., & VAN VUUREN, H. (2004). NATIONAL VICTIMS OF CRIME SURVEY SOUTH AFRICA 2003. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/mono101web.pdf

Chicago

BURTON, PATRICK, ANTON DU PLESSIS, TED LEGGETT, ANTOINETTE LOUW, DUXITA MISTRY, and HENNIE VAN VUUREN. NATIONAL VICTIMS OF CRIME SURVEY SOUTH AFRICA 2003. Institute for Security Studies, 2004. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/mono101web.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{burton2004national, author = {BURTON, PATRICK and DU PLESSIS, ANTON and LEGGETT, TED and LOUW, ANTOINETTE and MISTRY, DUXITA and VAN VUUREN, HENNIE}, title = {{NATIONAL VICTIMS OF CRIME SURVEY SOUTH AFRICA 2003}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2004}, month = jul, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/mono101web.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }