Townships as Crime ‘Hot-Spot’ Areas in Cape Town: Perceived Root Causes of Crime in Site B, Khayelitsha

Abstract

Crime in South Africa continues to devastate lives and prosperities of many people despite significant strides the country made to combat crime soon after the fall of apartheid in 1994. South Africa has implemented different crime prevention strategies but the crime situation in the country is unabated, particularly in poor communities and townships. The aim of this study is to investigate and understand root causes of high crime rates in Cape Town townships using Site B in Khayelitsha as a case study. The study used qualitative method in which purposing sampling approach was employed to select participants of the study, and data was collected by means of in-depth face-to-face interviews. Findings of this study revealed that poverty and high unemployment rate are perceived as the major factors responsible for high crime rates in Site B community. Other identified determinants of crime include ineffective criminal justice system, lack of proper parental guidance, and bad social role models.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n8p596