Crime in the rural district of Stellenbosch : a case study

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: One of the most distressing criminal activities has been the attacks on farmers since 1994 andfor many years now our farming community has been plagued by these senseless acts ofbrutality. Since the early nineties there has been a steady increase in the occurrence of farmattacks in our country and the rising incidence of violent crimes on farms and smallholdingsin South Africa has become a cause for great concern. The farming community in SouthAfrica has a very significant function in the economy of the country as producers of food andproviders of jobs and other commodities required by various other industries, such as themining industry. They render an indispensable service to our country and therefore we have toensure that this community receives the necessary safeguarding that is so desperately neededat this time.Farm attacks are occurring at alarming rates in South Africa, the Western Cape, and recentlyalso in the Stellenbosch district. The phenomenon of farm attacks needs to be analysed in thecontext of the crime situation in general. The underlying reasons for crime are diverse andmany, and need to be taken into account when interpreting the causes of crime in SouthAfrica. To ensure that this research endeavour has practical value for the various partiesinvolved in protecting rural communities, crime hotspots and circumstances in which crimeoccur were identified and used as a tool to provide the necessary protection and mobilisationof forces for these areas.The study focused on different theories in explaining the crime phenomenon. Informationfrom the Stellenbosch SAPS was used to analyse the study area and to identify areas that canbe classified as possible hotspots in the study area. Demographic and socio-economicdeterminants shed light upon the social structure in the study area and various environmentaldeterminants were also used to generate a broader understanding to the social pandemic.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University