Who is most at risk? Victimisation trends in the 2007 national crime and victimisation survey

This paper explores whether there are factors that may place some people at greater risk of experiencing crime in South African than others.

This paper explores whether there are factors that may place some people at greater risk of experiencing crime in South African than others. The paper is one of a series of papers presenting the findings of the National Crime and Victimisation Survey conducted by the Institute for Security Studies in 2007. This paper analyses the victimisation trends emerging from the data. It attempts to go beyond a basic reading of results to identify statistically what characteristics influence victimisation; the relative importance of different factors; and, whether they increase or decrease the likelihood of experiencing different types of crime. It does this using regression modelling of variables identified both in the preliminary analysis of the 2007 findings and in a range of similar studies.

About the author

Robyn Pharoah is an independent researcher working in Cape Town, in South Africa. She worked previously for the ISS Crime and Justice Programme in Pretoria and oversaw the running of the 2007 National Victimisation Survey.