Age of hope or anxiety?: dynamics of the fear of crime in South Africa
OUTPUT TYPE: Policy briefs
PUBLICATION YEAR: 2008
TITLE AUTHOR(S): B.Roberts
KEYWORDS: FEAR OF CRIME, PUBLIC OPINION, SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIAL ATTITUDES SURVEY (SASAS)
DEPARTMENT: Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES)
Intranet: HSRC Library: shelf number 6559
HANDLE: 20.500.11910/4049
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11910/4049
PUBLICATION YEAR: 2008
TITLE AUTHOR(S): B.Roberts
KEYWORDS: FEAR OF CRIME, PUBLIC OPINION, SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIAL ATTITUDES SURVEY (SASAS)
DEPARTMENT: Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES)
Intranet: HSRC Library: shelf number 6559
HANDLE: 20.500.11910/4049
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11910/4049
If you would like to obtain a copy of this Research Output, please contact Hanlie Baudin at researchoutputs@hsrc.ac.za.
Abstract
The fear of crime has a negative impact on quality of life at the individual, community and societal levels. This phenomenon, which tends to rely on racial stereotypes, has the effect of reducing the sense of trust and cohesion within communities, limiting people's mobility and hastening retreat from public spaces. This Policy Brief shows that the scope of fear extends beyond a specific minority of the population and that urban, informal settlement dwellers are the most concerned about crime. These insecurities, however, have not tempered the resolute optimism about South Africa's prospects. The brief recommends that reducing the fear of crime should be recognised as a priority alongside that of reducing crime itself.-
Related Research Outputs:
- The glue that binds or divides: social trust in South Africa
- Affirmative action
- No evidence of a dependency culture in South Africa
- Attitudes towards racial redress in South Africa
- Public perceptions of local government
- Youth voices in South Africa: echoes in the age of hope
- Towards a democratic definition of poverty: socially perceived necessities in South Africa
- South Africans' participation in local politics and government
- No sign of a dependency culture in South Africa
- Ten years into democracy: how South Africans view their world and themselves
- Choosing good neighbours: social tolerance and prejudice
- Public relationship with science in South Africa: tabulation report based on the 2013 round of the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS)
- Challenging corruption: changes in the public recognition of corruption as a societal priority in South Africa
- Protest blues: public opinion on the policing of protest in South Africa
- Minding the protest: attitudes towards different forms of protest action in contemporary South Africa
- A survey of attitudes towards and use of cellular phones
- The drug-crime nexus in South Africa: the HSRC SA-ADAM national survey: the social construction of victimization and victim support. Part 4
- Decoding South Africa's 1999 electoral geography
- Public opinion on national priority issues
- Perceptions about democracy