Crime, maps and policing: using data to police Khayelitsha

Do police understand crime patterns enough to effectively reduce harm?

Date: 2019-09-25

Time: 10:30 to 12:30

Venue: Town Lodge Hotel, 101 Buitengracht Street, Cape Town (Parking available inside)

RSVP: Helen Chanda, Phone: +27 12 346 9500, Email: [email protected]

The latest crime statistics show that 20% of murders in South Africa occurred in less than 3% of police precincts. Two of these police stations are in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.

Within such precincts, violence clusters in small, micro-locations. This presents important opportunities for targeted policing. Advances in evidence-based policing show that targeted interventions can effectively address crime and violence. But this requires access to recent, accurate crime data.

This seminar launches a new report on crime mapping in South Africa. It reviews the potential and problems of point-level murder and robbery data for Khayelitsha’s three stations.

This event is jointly hosted by the ISS and the Social Justice Coalition.

Chair: Dr Andrew Faull, Senior Researcher, ISS

Speakers: 

Dr Ian Edelstein, Independent Consultant

Mandisa Dyantyi, Social Justice Coalition

Maj-Gen Sekhukhune, SAPS Crime Registrar

Picture: Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp