The Victims of Crime Survey 2011, a countrywide survey by Statistics South Africa, focuses on peoples’ perceptions and experiences of crime and their views regarding the police and justice systems.
Residents from 29 754 households were polled between January 2010 and December 2010, with the findings providing insights into national and provincial trends.
Among the key results were:
· More than 40% of households believed the level of crime had dropped in their area during 2008 to 2010. Less than 35% said crime had gone up and a quarter of those polled believed crime had stayed the same.
· Housebreaking/burglary was the most common crime, with 4,5% of the households experiencing at least one incident during 2010.
· Some 60% of those polled were satisfied with the way police and courts were doing their work.
On corruption, 5.6% of households polled reported being asked for money for a service by a government official, with more than half (52,8%) of those victims of corruption being asked to pay a bribe to avoid traffic fines.
Other sectors where bribes were solicited included policing (21,4%), driver’s licences (15,9%), job seekers (13,8%) or passports (13,3%).
