Monograph 18: Crime in Johannesburg: Results of a City Victim Survey

The control and prevention of crime have become national priorities in South Africa, particularly in Johannesburg, where some of the highest crime rates in the country are recorded. Much of the national crime debate has focused on the extent of crime in the city as reflected in police statistics. By conducting a victimisation survey — a measure of crime obtained by interviewing a representative sample of victims — it is possible to develop a clearer picture of the nature of victimisation in Johannesburg.

Johannesburg is popularly referred to as the country’s “crime capital” and “the most violent city in the world”. Few cities or urban areas, however, are free from crime, and the risk of becoming a victim is high for residents of most large cities. These risks are greater in poorer parts of the world, particularly in countries transitioning from authoritarian rule to democracy and characterised by pronounced economic inequality, such as states in Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe.

Johannesburg’s notoriously high levels of violent armed robbery and burglary fit this pattern. These crimes also heighten the fear of crime and receive extensive media coverage. What is often overlooked is that a large proportion of these and other crimes affect not the middle classes, but the urban poor. The impact of crime on this sector of society, however, is less visible.

Of more immediate concern in Johannesburg is the fact that high crime levels are driving people out of the metropolitan area and threatening business and investor confidence in the economic heart of the country. Within the city itself, the central business district (CBD), perceived as the most dangerous part of Johannesburg, is facing decline as formal businesses relocate to the relative safety of the suburbs and satellite CBDs.

Equally serious are the effects of crime on Johannesburg’s residents. Fear of crime and feelings of insecurity are widespread. Combined with diminishing confidence in the government’s ability to protect its citizens, the city — already divided by the legacy of apartheid boundaries — is becoming increasingly compartmentalised by high walls, fenced-off suburbs and private security guards for those who can afford them.

For those who cannot afford private protection, the available options are limited to informal preventive measures and alternative forms of justice in the face of continued vulnerability to crime. The divide created by crime between the daily lives of the wealthy and the poor encourages alternative crime-control strategies. These threaten to entrench South Africa’s already severe social and economic inequalities.

Johannesburg’s crime problem has resulted in pressure from several quarters. The city is increasingly viewed by the government and the police as the country’s test case for controlling and preventing urban crime. Success in South Africa’s “crime capital” would strengthen the confidence of both the public and the police in efforts to reduce crime.

In response to these pressures and with international support, the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council’s Safer Cities programme was initiated in March 1997. Facilitated by the local authority, the strategy aims to lead a range of focused crime-prevention programmes involving partnerships between local government, the police, non-governmental organisations and community groups.

The South African Police Service (SAPS), for its part, launched the second phase of Operation Urban Strike in September 1997. The operation aimed to reduce serious crime in identified “hot spots” through proactive policing operations in the Johannesburg area.

From the outset, both projects identified reliable crime information as essential to the success of their activities. Such information remains in short supply, despite the extensive focus on crime in Johannesburg and South Africa as a whole.