Understanding the Violent Nature of Crime in South Africa

1. Presentation Name CIVILIAN SECRETARIAT FOR POLICE CIVILIAN SECRETARIAT FOR POLICE Comments on the Violent Nature of Crime in SA ReportReport by CSVR

2. Introduction • In February 2007, Minister of Safety and Security contracted CSVR to conduct a six part report for the JCPS cluster • The report contains the following six parts: • Component 1: A concept paper on the violent nature of crime in South Africa (Submitted: June 2007). • Component 2: A study of murder entitled “Streets of Pain, Streets of Sorrow: the circumstances of the occurrence of murder in six areas with high rates of murder” (Submitted: June 2008). • Component 3: A study on sexual violence entitled: “A state of sexual tyranny: the prevalence, nature and causes of sexual violence in South Africa” (Submitted: December 2008). • Component 4: An analysis of the socioeconomic factors that contribute to violence, entitled: “Adding injury to insult: How exclusion and inequality drive South Africa’s problem of violence” (Submitted: October 2008). • Component 5: “Case studies on perpetrators of violent crime” (Submitted: December 2008). • Component 6: A summary report on key findings and recommendations (Submitted: 31 January 2009). • Supplementary report requested by Minister Mthethwa: Why does SA have such high rates of violent crime (April 2009)

3. Understanding Violent Crime • The report emphasizes that violence must be understood in terms of the forms that it takes. • Three forms that stands out – • Assaults linked to arguments, anger and domestic violence • Rape and sexual assault • Robbery and other violent property crime • The report uses the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System (NIMSS) and SAPS data to show differences in violence in metropolitan and other parts of South • Aggravated robbery is concentrated in the metropolitan areas • The profile of weapons used is different – firearms are also more concentrated in metropolitan areas • Cape Town is different from other metropolitan areas (much higher use of knives) • The gender profile of victims is slightly different – the proportion of female homicide victims is slightly higher in non-metro areas (15%) as opposed to Metro areas 3

4. Understanding Violent Crime… • While weapons are present in fatal violence, they are not omni- present in non fatal violence • The data shows that aggravated robberies escalated in the last year dramatically in the middle class suburban areas and formal businesses • It states that organised groups are responsible and might be growing • However, the report emphasizes the root of violent crime is a general culture of violence and criminality, rather than a connection to organised crime

5. The Violent Nature of Crime • The report states that the overwhelming problem remains that individual acts of robbery are more likely to occur in townships and are not part of organised crime • This is perpetrated by young men with a criminal identity as individuals or as part of a broader gang • Culture of violence and criminality are the principal factors underpinning armed violence in South Africa • Non Metro areas are diverse with respect to violent crime • Limpopo and Northern Cape are areas with lowest rates of violent crime • Use of knives more likely and the use of firearms less likely in murders • Aggravated robbery are less common in non Metro areas • NIMSS data shows that women make up 13% of homicide victims although higher proportion are victims in rural areas • The report concludes that most violent crime is acquaintance violence with the exception of robbery • Certain aspects of crime in the Metros have been given prominence by civil society groups and the media 5

6. Other Findings • Male –Male disputes in the six area murder study accounts for 45% • Street robberies and robberies in other public spaces account for the majority of aggravated robberies and 13% of murder • Specific factors which sustain the culture of violence: • Inequality, poverty, unemployment, and social exclusion and marginalisation. • Perceptions and values relating to violence and crime. • Vulnerability of young people linked to inadequate child rearing and inappropriate youth socialisation. • Weaknesses of the criminal justice system and aligned systems. • Other causes including the availability of firearms and widespread use of other weapons, the role of alcohol, attitudes of male sexual entitlement and the domestic, regional and local criminal economy

7. Recommendations A strategy to address armed violent crime in metropolitan and surrounding areas - Develop Policing strategies for addressing armed violence - Invest in research aimed at identifying and publicising good practice in local level policing in addressing armed violence - Strengthening evidence based crime investigation and prosecution - Strengthening measures to ensure police integrity - Child Justice – an armed violence strategy is likely to lead to the apprehension of more young people involved in armed violence 2. Creating safety in public and other spaces: - Public areas that are gun free zones - Discouraging violence and bullying at schools - Creating weapons free zones in drinking establishments - Improving safety in prisons so that it becomes violence free 7

8. Recommendations 3. Supporting positive and healthy child and youth development - A coherent and sustained family support programme that focuses on single parent households, particularly those headed by teenage mothers - A dedicated and comprehensive early childhood development programme that provides support to the children coming from dysfunctional households - Developing interpersonal and emotional pro-social skills, including the ability to manage conflict and aggression for primary and adolescent school children - After-school care programmes intended to assist young people in finding creative and positive ways of using recreational time - Victim empowerment programmes targeted at young victims of violence - Programmes aimed at promoting positive and constructive lifestyles for young people in the 14-22 year age group - Reducing the use of alcohol by pregnant women as well as providing nutritional support to pregnant women, infants and young children

9. Recommendations 4. Addressing the culture of violence - Advocating against violence – political and other leaders to promote a non-violent culture - Implementing national programmes of action to strengthen non-violence - Developing public education initiatives providing information about acquaintance violence and how to intervene in or prevent it - Working with communities to develop programmes of action against violence 5. Addressing violence in poorer communities - South Africa continues to adopt policies that favours the well to do over the poor - Structural factors of inequality and have no voice in the public arena

10. Other recommendations • Data collection and reporting • Support to the NIMSS • Provide support to reporting on non metropolitan areas • Crime Statistics • - Use the police station as the basic unit for release of crime stats • Understanding violence • - Work with state , civil society and academic research agencies to • understand the nature of crime in South Africa

11. Strengths of the Report • The reports provides an overview of the ‘big picture’ of violence in South Africa. • It provides a large amount of material which are helpful to anyone trying to understand violence in South Africa. • This includes some new research. • The reports also are very useful in integrating a lot of the work that has been done on violence in South Africa up to this point    • The concept of armed violence is helpful as an overall concept for defining the violence which is most serious and contributes the most to deaths, serious injury and fear. • The proposal that social mobilization against violence should focus on violence broadly is also worth considering. • The framework of recommendations put forward in the report have some new elements – their main value is in emphasizing the fundamentals of a clear and coherent strategy for addressing violence • It recognises that a lot is already being done • There are some elements which call for government to re-orientate itself 11

12. Limitations and potential avenues for further research • The concepts of ‘culture of violence and criminality’ and of the ‘culture of violence’ need to be unpacked and better understood; • The reports do not really engage with the implications of the post 1994 policing environment (human rights based policing, community policing and so on) for the response to crime. Related to this more could be said about the police violence and its implications for violence • The report aims to use the best data available to portray a picture of violent crime – concerns about the reliability of available data highlight the need for improvements in data collection on violence in SA. • The question about why some countries with histories of violence are not as violent as South Africa deserves further exploration.

13. Other Limitations • The question about why some poorer communities are strongly affected by violence whilst others are less affected also deserves further exploration.   • The concern with violent crime should also not  lead to crimes of the rich • ( fraud, embezzlement and corruption) and their impact on society being neglected • The study highlights the relatively limited information about violence in rural areas   • While the reports engage with questions about the causes of crime there is still more that could be done here. For instance there are big questions about the role of personality factors in contributing to young people’s involvement in violence and criminality whilst others do not.

14. Concluding Comments • Interest and advocacy groups have played an important role in bringing aspects of the problem of violence into focus. • But alongside this key dimensions of problem of violence have been rendered invisible • Response to violence needs to be aligned with nature of violence in each community – importance of reliable systems for gathering data about violence. • Question “what form does armed violence take?’ useful in clarifying what aspects of problem in each community should be regarded as most serious - with sexual violence.

15. Conclusion • The report appears to be extensive with different sections addressing different forms of crime • Part of the value of the report appears to be the fact that it provides a framework for understanding violence (notably the concept of ‘major forms of violence’) in the country • It opens a debate on the nature of crime in the country which is useful • It raises questions about the most serious forms of violence and the manner in which it is addressed • It opens up the issue of differences in violence between high violence wealthy and poorer communities and the need to respond to violence in both types of communities effectively.

16. The Way Forward • The recommendations must be seen as building blocks of a crime fighting approach . • Some of the recommendations are already being addressed in the JCPS cluster. • The study raises many questions about the causes of violent crime in SA. • The Civilian Secretariat for Police is currently engaging with academics and other institutions to assist in providing more clarity of this area. • We are collaborating with Statistics South Africa to initiate another Victims Perception Survey to understand patterns of victimization. • The Civilian Secretariat for Police based on the above is already developing a policy to build Community Safety Forums. This will address many of the social issues that have an impact on safety and violence mentioned in the report. • The re-establishment of the FCS Units will help to address aspects of acquaintance violence