A test of the effects of social disorganization on the occurrence of property crime in South Africa’s most urbanized province.

• In Event: Measurement and Methodology

Abstract

Though the conditions of daily life in South Africa can easily be characterized as socially disorganized, few studies have attempted to explain crime within the framework of social disorganization theory and fewer investigate the spatial dimension of property crime. Utilizing previously undeveloped spatial datasets, the present study explores the relationship between key variables of social disorganization theory (income, employment, poverty, education, urbanization, and population rates) and property crime in Gauteng, South Africa’s most urbanized and populous province. For this purpose, the study uses ArcGIS 10.0, GEODA and SAS to spatially and statistically analyze geocoded 2015 South African Police Service crime statistics and South African Census data. The study applies geo-analysis frequently used in the United States and Europe in order to facilitate a more thorough understanding of the factors that facilitate criminal behavior in South Africa. Such analyses assist in the development of a theoretical context for understanding crime as well as help in the improvement of crime prevention procedures in South Africa.

Authors

• Jeremy Porter, Brooklyn College

• Alexandra Hiropoulos, African Centre for Migration & Society, University of the Witwatersrand

• Valeria Metla, Rutgers University