Untitled Document

This report by the Institute for Security Studies examines the relationship between the physical environment and crime in South Africa's major cities. It argues that apartheid-era urban planning created fragmented, segregated cities that foster insecurity, particularly in townships and informal settlements. The document advocates for crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) as a necessary component of multifaceted crime prevention strategies, emphasizing that design interventions should target specific environmental factors that increase the risk of victimisation and the fear of crime.

• Apartheid-era urban planning created a city structure characterized by low-density sprawl, fragmentation, and racial and income-based separation, which continues to influence crime patterns in post-apartheid South Africa.
• Victimisation patterns vary significantly by location and race: residents of townships and informal settlements, predominantly African, are most likely to experience violent crimes such as assault, murder, and rape.
• Suburban residents, primarily white and Asian, are disproportionately affected by property crimes like burglary and car theft, but are far less likely to be victims of violent crime.
• In city centres, crime is concentrated around public transport facilities, with mugging, robbery, and vehicle-related thefts being the most prevalent offences.
• Fear of crime in South Africa is pervasive and does not always correlate with actual victimisation rates; for example, white and Asian residents often fear violent crime more than they experience it, while those in townships fear it less despite higher actual rates of violence.
• Specific environmental factors in townships and informal settlements, such as a lack of street lighting, poor infrastructure, and isolated open spaces, increase the risk of violent crime, particularly for women.
• Poor architectural design in city centres, including 'blind facades' and internalised shopping complexes, reduces passive surveillance and creates unsafe environments for pedestrians.
• Environmental design interventions in South Africa have historically focused on affluent areas and 'target hardening' (e.g., higher walls), which can inadvertently limit police access and visibility.
• Policing is unevenly distributed and under-resourced in high-crime areas; township police often lack the human and physical resources, as well as the skills, to be effective.
• The report concludes that while environmental design is not a standalone solution, implementing sound design principles during the planning stage is the most cost-effective way to reduce victimisation and fear of crime.

APA

-1, Shaw, M., & Louw, A. (1998). Untitled Document. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono24.pdf

Chicago

-1, Mark Shaw, and Antoinette Louw. Untitled Document. Institute for Security Studies, 1998. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono24.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=-1 |last2=Shaw |first2=Mark |last3=Louw |first3=Antoinette |title=Untitled Document |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=May 1998 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono24.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{11998untitled, author = {-1 and Shaw, Mark and Louw, Antoinette}, title = {{Untitled Document}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {1998}, month = may, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono24.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }