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/ Oxford Evidentia

Why Is Crime In South Africa So Violent?

A Rapid Evidence Assessment

Philip Davies

Kristen MacPherson

May2011

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Table of Contents

Key Findings

Executive Summary......

Background......

Objective of the REA.......

Contextual Factors of Violence and Violence Crime in South Africa......

Chapter 1......

Objectives and Methodology......

1.0 Background......

1.1 Objective of the REA......

1.2 Research Questions......

1.2 Methodology......

1.3 Scope of the REA......

1.4 Search Methods for Identifying Documents......

1.5 Access Database and Document Retrieval......

1.6 Establishing Relevance Against Scope......

Abstract Stage......

Full Text Stage......

1.7 Quality Assessment and Critical Appraisal......

1.8 Included and Excluded Documents......

1.9 Data Extraction......

Chapter 2......

Theories and Evidence for Why Crime In South Africa Is So Violent......

2.0 Introduction

2.1 Definitions of Violence......

2.3 Explanations of Violence in South Africa

2.4 Political-Historlcal Factors......

2.5 A ‘Culture of Violence......

2.6 The Normalisation of Violence......

2.7 Historical Legacy

2.8 Apartheid Legacy......

2.9 The Police and Judiciary......

2.10 Assessment of the Evidence on Political-Historical Causes of Violence......

2.11 Environmental Factors......

2.12 Family, Socialisation and Bullying......

2.13 Groups and Gangs......

2.14 Guns and Firearms......

2.15 Alcohol and Substance Misuse......

2.16 Social Attitudes and Roles......

2.17 Situational and Contextual Factors......

2.18 Individual Factors

2.19 Age

2.20 Gender

2.21 Education......

2.22 Psychological Profile......

2.23 Psychiatric Profile

2.24 Economic Profile......

2.25 Summary

Chapter 3......

Contextual Factors of Violence and Violence Crime in South Africa......

3.1The Epidemiology of Violent Crime in South Africa......

3.2 Violent Crime by Province

3.3 The Social Distribution of Violent Crime

3.4 Summary

Chapter 4

Promising Interventions for Reducing Violence and Violent Crime

4.1Caveat

4.2 Levels of Intervention

4.3 Political Level Interventions

4.4 Individual and Social Environmental Level Interventions

4.5 Summary

References......

Table of Figures

Figure 1: Flow chart of Selecting Articles Against Scope and Quality......

Figure 2.1: Why is Crime in South Africa So Violent?Theoretical Explanations......

Figure 3.1:Homicide Rates in 23 Countries Using Data From Various Sources

Figure 3.2: Homicide Rates in South Africa by Province,per 100,000 population

Appendices

Appendix 1:Eligibility, Quality Assessment and Data Extraction Form......

Appendix 2: Table of Included Studies......

Appendix 3: Table of Excluded Studies......

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Key Findings

The reasons for high rates of violence and violent crime in South Africa are a combination of political-historical, environmental and individual factors.

Political-Historical Factors

South Africa’s colonial and apartheid legacy is said to have given way to the ‘normalisation’ of violence, in which violence is seen as an acceptable means of problem solving and resolving conflict.The policing and justice system of South Africa is also seen as having led to a mistrust of the rule of law and authorities, and to some vigilantism and summary justice.

Environmental factors

Fractured families, poor socialisation, harsh and inconsistent discipline, physical and emotional abuse, and inadequate limit-setting are contributing factors to why crime in South Africa is so violent. So too are gangs that use violence, guns and other weapons to acquire goods, opportunities, and a sense of identity and self-worth. The misuse of alcohol and other drugs also increases the level of violence in criminal activity. Social attitudes and cultural values about gender condone and reinforce abusive practices against women.

Individual Factors

The age (younger), gender (males) and educational background (low achievement) of criminals are strongly associated with violent behaviour and violent crime. So too are certain psychological profiles and some psychiatric conditions. Poverty, unemployment inequality and social exclusionalso contribute to South Africa’s burden of violence, but are inseparably related to other key factors (political-historical, environmental and individual).

Social Distribution of Violence

Violent crime is not uniform across South Africa. The Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal have the highest rates of homicides, and Gauteng has the highest rates of car and truck hijacking and robberies. Affluent areas of South Africaexperience more violent property crime, whilstpoorer communities have more domestic violence, male-male assaults, murder and rape. Violent crime is a concern for Black and White South Africans, andthe concerns of poorer communities about violence and violent crime need to be given greater attention.

Promising Interventions for Reducing Violence and Violent Crime

These include interventions at the political, environmental and individual levels, requiring actions that areinter-sectoral, strategic, and evidence-based.Interventions to reduce poverty, increase educational participation and completion, develop work-based skills and job opportunities, and support for programmes that seek to change social attitudes and norms (particularly those related to gender and violence), are suggested. Better control of guns, weapons, alcohol and other drugs are also called for.Multi-modal programmes for violent behaviour seem to be more effective than single component interventions. Inter-personal and social skills training, along with parenting skills training,seem to offer considerable opportunity to reduce violent and other antisocial behaviour.

Executive Summary

Background

Crime, and violent crime, is higher is South Africa than in most of the other countries of the world. This includes the rates of murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, other property crime, and vehicle hijackings. Violent crime, therefore, presents a major challenge for policy makers and those responsible for making South Africa a country in which “all people in South Africa are and feel safe”[1] (Office of the Presidency, 2010).

Objective of the REA.

The objective of this Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) is to identify the reasons given in the existing research literature for why crime in South Africa is so violent.

Theories and Evidence for Why Crime In South Africa Is So Violent

There seems to be some consensus in the research evidence that the reasons why crime in South Africa is so violent are multiple and inter-connected. Single factor explanations are considered to be untenable. The evidence that has been reviewed suggests that the reasons for violence and violent crime in South Africa are a combination of political-historical, environmental and individual factors.

Political-Historical Factors include:

  • South Africa’s Colonial and Apartheid Legacy, which is said to have created a situation “in which violence is seen as a way to address conflict and assert interests (Bruce, 2009:4). This is partly a legacy of the apartheid era, but also of the “institutionalised violence, and informal racialised violence, which was directed against Black people during much of the 20th century in South Africa” (CSVR (2007:171).
  • The Normalisation of Violence, which has resulted in a ‘culture of violence” and a ‘social fabric of violence’ in South Africa. According to this view many people in South Africa see “violence as an acceptable means of problem-solving and resolving conflict” (van der Merwe and Dawes, 2007).
  • The Policing and Justice System of South Africa, whose actions during the apartheid system, and more recently, have led to “a lingering mistrust of the rule of law and authorities”, and “to vigilantism and summary justice” (Hamber, 1999:118).

Environmental Factors include:

  • Fractured Family and Child Socialisation, characterised in South Africa by missing parents, harsh and inconsistent discipline, physical and emotional abuse, and inadequate limit-setting. This, it is argued, has led to low self-worth, lack of self-confidence and violent behaviour in some people by “removing motivations for self-control, or in increasing the disposition to take offence at perceived slights or insults” (CSVR, 2007:168).
  • The Role of Groups and Gangs in which children, adolescents and adults use violence to acquire goods and opportunities, and a sense of identity and self-worth.
  • The Availability and Use of Guns and Other Weapons, which in South Africa is amongst the highest in the world. This “dramatically increases [offenders’] coercive power and dangerousness, and therefore their confidence about being able to dominate others through the use or threat of violence” (CSVR, 2007:63).
  • The Misuse of Alcohol and Other Drugs, which has a high prevalence in South Africa and leads to disinhibited behaviour and aggravated violence. Crime and violence are not only linked to the need to pay for drugs (such as cocaine), but also to the battles between gangs for the dominance of the supply (United Nations (2002).
  • Social Attitudes And Roles, particularly with respect to gender. It has been suggested that “violence against women is pervasive in South Africa where, as in many other countries, cultural values and norms serve to condone and reinforce abusive practices against women” (Kim and Motsei, 2002:1243).
  • Contextual and Situational Factors, such as acts of resistance to criminal activity, which “frequently merely provoke a violent response from the perpetrators, resulting in the death or injury of the victim or other innocent people” (CSVR, 2007:112).

Individual Factors include:

  • Age – Violent crime is more prevalent amongst younger people, and “the younger a person is at the time of the first violent offence, the greater the likelihood of recidivism” (Louw et al 2005:380).
  • Gender - The CSVR Report notes that “in South Africa and internationally, the perpetration of violence is overwhelmingly the domain of men” (CSVR, 2007:137). Violence by women may be underestimated because “women are more inclined to choose family members as targets of violence, and consequently tend to act violently at home, rather than in public” (Louw et al 2005:380).
  • Education - Low school performance and aspiration, school drop-out, low maternal education, and low care-giver education have been identified by as risk factors for violence (Van der Merwe and Dawes, 2007). All of these factors exist in parts of South Africa. The use of violence in South African schools to maintain classroom and social control has also been suggested as a contributory factor to later violent behaviour (Burnett, 1999).
  • Psychological Profiles – A wide range of psychological conditions and attributes have been linked to violent behaviour, including low self-worth, lack of self-confidence, lack of self-control, hyperactivity, impulsivity, risk-taking, attention-deficits, early-onset conduct problems (van der Merwe and Dawes 2007:97). These conditions are said to be more likely where there has been disrupted family life and fractured socialisation.
  • Psychiatric Profiles – It has been noted that most psychiatric patients do not commit either violent or criminal acts” (Louw et al. 2005:384). Nonetheless, “the probability of the occurrence of violent behaviour is five times greater in the case of psychopathy than in the case of any other condition” (ibid).
  • Economic Profiles – “Poverty and inequality are crucial social dynamics that have contributed to South Africa’s burden of violent injury. They are inseparably related to other key drivers such as the dominant patriarchal constructions of masculinity, the intergenerational cycling of violence, alcohol and drug misuse, and the proliferation of firearms” (Seedat et al, 2009:1011).

Contextual Factors of Violence and Violence Crime in South Africa

This main contextual factors of violence and violent crime in South Africa that have been identified by this rapid evidence assessment include:

  • The High Rate of Violent Crime in South Africa compared with most other countries, especially homicides, rape, and gun violence;
  • The Variable Rate of Violent Crime Across the Provinces of South Africa, with the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal having the highest rates of homicides, and Gauteng having the highest rates of car and truck hijacking, bank robbery, cash-in-transit robbery, house robbery, business robbery, and ‘other aggravated robbery’;
  • The Different Patterns of Violent Crime in More Affluent and Poorer Communities, with the former experiencing violent property crime and the latter having more domestic violence, male-male assaults, murder and rape;
  • Perceptions of Violent Crime - the fact that violent crime is a concern for Black and White South Africans alike, despite some media representations that violent crime is mainly a problem for Whites. The concerns of poorer communities about violence and violent crime may need to be given greater attention.

These contextual factors provide a more nuanced view of violence and violence crime than is sometimes offered by only looking at violent crime in South Africa overall.

Promising Interventions for Reducing Violence and Violent Crime

Such interventions operate at the political, environmental and individual levels, and involve primary, secondary and tertiary levels of prevention. Primary interventions are aimed at preventing violence from occurring; secondary preventions target those who have been exposed to high levels of violence; and tertiary preventions target those who already display the violent behaviour.

Multi-modal programmes seem to be more effective than single component interventions, and require actions at more than one level. “Inter-personal and social skills training are generally more effective in reducing violent and other antisocial behaviour than educational, vocational or undirected therapeutic approaches” (van der Merwe and Dawes, 2007:105). Parenting skills training, along with interventions, such as Functional Family Therapy (FFT), Multisystemic Therapy (MST), and Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) have also been shown to be effective.

A broad range of activities by government has been called for, including interventions that are inter-sectoral, strategic, and evidence-based. Interventions to reduce poverty, increase educational participation and completion, develop work-based skills and job opportunities, and support for programmes that seek to change social attitudes and norms (particularly those related to gender and violence), are suggested. It is unclear precisely which interventions at the policy level have been proven to be effective in reducing violence. Consequently, it is proposed that a separate rapid evidence assessment should be undertaken of the effectiveness of interventions at each level identified by this review.

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Chapter 1

Objectives and Methodology

1.0 Background

Crime, and violent crime, is higher is South Africa than in most of the other countries of the world. This includes the rates of murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, other property crime, and vehicle hijackings (see Chapter 3 for more details). Violent crime, therefore, presents a major challenge for policy makers and those responsible for making South Africa a country in which “all people in South Africa are and feel safe”[2]. (Office of the Presidency, 2010).

1.1 Objective of the REA

The objective of this Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) isto identify the reasons given in the existing research literature for why crime in South Africa is so violent.This is a different objective from explaining why there is violent crime in South Africa, which is a closely related, but separate, issue.

1.2 Research Questions

The research questions developed to address the objective of this REA are as follows.

What does the existing body of evidence tell us about:

  1. theories of why crime in South Africa is so violent?
  2. empirical findings on why crime in South Africa is so violent?
  3. contextual factors that explain why crime in South Africa is so violent?
  4. promising interventions for reducing violence and violent crime in South Africa

1.2 Methodology

This REA has been carried out using the following stages of research synthesis:

  • Clarifying the scope of the REA
  • Search strategy
  • Document retrieval
  • Critical appraisal of available evidence
  • Data extraction
  • Analysis of findings
  • Final report

1.3 Scope of the REA

This REA has included documents that met the following criteria:

  • Studies with a population of South African citizens.
  • Studies of a South African context.
  • Interventions investigating reasons for violent crime.
  • Studies involving various types of violent crime, including (but not limited to): gang and organised crime/violence; domestic violence; sexual violence; workplace violence; and transport violence.
  • Studies in English.
  • Studies published after (and including) 1994.
  • Studies that apply to contemporary South Africa.

1.4 Search Methods for Identifying Documents

Documents that met the scope of this project were identified by systematically searching electronic databases. No language barrier was imposed on the searches, but the retrieved results were sifted for publications in English language or summaries translated into English. Studies published after, and including, 1994 were identified.

The following scientific databases were searched:

  • Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA)
  • National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS)
  • Sociofile
  • Social Science Citation Index (SSCI)
  • Psyclnfo
  • Medline

Initial searches used the search terms‘violen* AND crim* AND South Africa’. Additional terms were used to give greater sensitivity to the searching. These included ‘expla*’, ‘factor*’, ‘reason*’, and descriptors from within the above databases including: ‘violent crimes’, ‘crime causes theory’, ‘psychological victimi*ation effects’, ‘bullying’, ‘bully*’, ‘foreign criminal justice’, ‘criminology’, ‘social conditions’, ‘urban area studies’, ‘crime measurement’, ‘political influences’, ‘politically motivated violent crimes’, ‘cultural influences, ‘socio-economic’, ‘childhood’, ‘socialisation’, ‘firearms’, and ‘gun control’.

1.5 Access Database and Document Retrieval

Full citations of 117 documents that were identified using the above methods of searching were imported into an Access database for purposes of data organisation, retrieval and analysis. Most of the documents identified by the search procedures outlined above were retrieved electronically as full text documents. A few documents had to be retrieved using hard copy sources.

1.6 Establishing Relevance Against Scope

Abstract Stage

The abstract of each of the 117 documents that had been identified was read in order to make an initial decision on its potential relevance against the scope of the project. This process reduced the number of documents from 117 to 80 (see Figure 1). Thirty-seven documents were excluded at the abstract stage because they did not meet the scope of the REA. A further 20 documents were duplicates and hence excluded, bringing the number of documents to 60.