NCJ Number
129205
Date Published
1990
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This chapter presents the police crime statistics for the black South African townships of Umlazi and KwaMashu for 1984-88.
Abstract
In addition to overall crime statistics, statistics are presented for the offenses of murder and attempted murder, rape and attempted rape, common assault, aggravated assault, possession of dagga, burglary, robbery, and all other theft offenses. Although the total number of recorded offenses for Umlazi increased from 6,797 in 1984 to 8,008 in 1988, the total for KwaMashu decreased from 7,055 in 1986 to 6,441 for 1988. For the offenses of rape and attempted rape as well as burglary, KwaMashu experienced significant increases. A greater number of murders and attempted murders as well as robberies were recorded during 1986 and 1987 for Kwamashu compared to Umlazi. The rate for most crimes is higher for KwaMashu than for Umlazi. The violent-crime rates for both Umlazi and KwaMashu are considerably higher than the rate of reported crime for South Africa as a whole, while the rates of motor vehicle theft and housebreaking are lower for both townships than for the Nation as a whole. The chapter concludes with a discussion of problems associated with using official crime statistics to profile a community's crime patterns. 4 tables and 8 references