Victims of Crime Survey 2017-2018

South Africa, 2017 - 2018

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Reference ID

zaf-statssa-vcs-2017-2018-v1.1

Producer(s)

Statistics South Africa

Collections

Governance, Public Safety and Justice Data

Metadata

DDI/XML JSON

Created on

Dec 04, 2019

Last modified

Dec 04, 2023

Page views

373179

Downloads

2581

Identification

Survey ID number

zaf-statssa-vcs-2017-2018-v1.1

Title

Victims of Crime Survey 2017-2018

Country

Name	Country code
South Africa	zaf

Study type

Household Survey [hh]

Series Information

Statistics South Africa. Victims of crime survey 2017-2018[dataset]. Version 1. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa [producer], 2018. Cape Town: DataFirst [distributor], 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25828/8nb3-bg33

Abstract

The Victims of Crime Survey (VCS) is a countrywide household-based survey which collects data on the prevalence of particular kinds of crime within South Africa. The survey includes information on victimisation experienced by individuals and households and their perspectives on community responses to crime. Therefore, VCS data can be used for research in the development of policies and strategies for crime prevention and public safety and education programmes. Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) conducted its first VCS in 1998. Following the VCS 1998, victims surveys were conducted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). Since 2011, StatsSA began conducting an annual collection of the VCS as a source of information on crime in South Africa. The main objectives of the survey are to:

• Provide information about the dynamics of crime from the perspective of households and the victims of crime.

• Explore public perceptions of the activities of the police, prosecutors, courts and correctional services in the prevention of crime and victimisation.

• Provide complimentary data on the level of crime within South Africa in addition to the statistics published annually by the South African Police Service.

NOTE: The VCS 2017/18 is the eighth and final release in the collection and is comparable to the new Governance Public Safety and Justice Survey (GPSJS). In April 2018, StatsSA launched the GPSJS in response to the need for standardised international reporting standards on governance and access to justice that are recommended by the SDGs, ShaSA and Agenda 2063. In compliance with these standards, Stats SA has discontinued separate publication of the VCS and rather incorporated it within the new GPSJS series. Therefore, VCS 2017/18 represents the final separate release of the series and all subsequent VCS series can be extracted from the GPSJS series (i.e. VCS 2018/19 is contained within GPSJS 2018/19).

Kind of Data

Sample survey data

Unit of Analysis

Households and individuals

Version

Version Description

v1: Edited, anonymised dataset for public access
v1.1: The variable "Lenght of stay" was added to the dataset, it was previously missing on v1.0.

Version Date

2018

Version Notes

DataFirst versions at dataset level. So although only one data file has been updated, the dataset had been re-versioned to match the version of the latest file in the dataset

Scope

Notes

The VCS focuses on people's perceptions and experiences of crime and their views regarding access to, and effectiveness of the police service and criminal justice system. Households are also asked about community responses to crime. The survey profiles different aspects that are inherent in the different types of crime, such as the location and timing of the different crimes, the use of weapons and the nature and extent of the violence that takes place.

Coverage

Geographic Coverage

The survey has national coverage.

Geographic Unit

The lowest level of geographic aggregation covered by the data is province.

Universe

The target population of the survey consists of all private households in all nine provinces of South Africa and residents in workers' hostels. The survey does not cover other collective living quarters such as students' hostels, old-age homes, hospitals, prisons and military barracks, and is therefore only representative of non-institutionalised and non-military persons or households in South Africa.

Producers and sponsors

Primary investigators

Name
Statistics South Africa

Sampling

Sampling Procedure

VCS 2017/2018 uses a Master Sample frame which has been developed as a general-purpose household survey frame that can be used by other Stats SA household-based surveys. VCS 2017/2018 collection was based on the Stats SA 2013 Master Sample. This Master Sample is based on information collected during the 2011 Census conducted by Stats SA. In preparation for Census 2011, the country was divided into 103 576 enumeration areas (EAs). The census EAs, together with the auxiliary information for the EAs, were used as the frame units or building blocks for the formation of primary sampling units (PSUs) for the Master Sample. There are 3 324 primary sampling units (PSUs) in the Master Sample with an expected sample of approximately 33 000 dwelling units (DUs).The number of PSUs in the current Master Sample (3 324) reflects an 8,0% increase in the size of the Master Sample compared to the previous Master Sample (based on the 2001 Census which had 3 080 PSUs). The updating of the Master Sample as compared to previous VCSs is expected to improve the precision of statistical estimates.

The Master Sample is designed to be representative at provincial level and within provinces at metro/non-metro levels. Within the metros, the sample is further distributed by geographical type. The three geography types are Urban, Tribal and Farms. This implies, for example, that within a metropolitan area, the sample is representative of the different geography types that may exist within that metro.

Survey instrument

Questionnaires

The VCS 2017/18 questionnaire was based on the questionnaires used in the International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS) and previous VOCSs conducted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and Statistics SA.

Sections 10 to 20 of the questionnaire relate to household crimes. A proxy respondent (preferably head of the household or acting head of household) answered on behalf of the household. Section 21 to 28 of the questionnaire about crimes on individuals were asked of a household member who was selected using the birthday section method. This methodology selects an individual who is 16 years or older, whose birthday is soonest after the survey date.

Data collection

Dates of Data Collection

Start	End
2017-04	2018-03

Data Collection Mode

Face-to-face [f2f]

Data Collectors

Name	Affiliation
Statistics South Africa	Government of South Africa

Data Collection Notes

Since 2013, Stats SA has changed the data collection methodology to continuous data collection. Data is collected from April of the current year to March of the proceeding year.

For the VCS 2017/18, the reference period for the experience of crime estimates is April 2017 to February 2018, while questions on perceptions referred to the collection period (i.e. April 2017 to March 2018).

Data appraisal

Data Appraisal

Comparability:

Prior to 2014/2015, VOCS respondents were asked about their crime-related experiences in the previous calendar year, but since 2014/15 VCS changed to a Continuous Data Collection (CDC) method. In this data collection method, respondents were interviewed on a rolling basis over the course of a year and asked about crime experienced in the 12 months prior to the interview. As a result of this, the victimisation experiences reported by respondents interviewed in a period of 12 months relate to a broader span of 23 months.

The VCS 2017/18 is comparable to all previous VCSs iin that several questions have remained unchanged over time. Where possible, it was generally indicated in the report. Additionally, the VCS 2017/18 is the last before VCS became incorproated into a broader survey called the GPSJS. The change to the surveys will likely cause some comparability issues going forward beyond 2018.

Metadata:
There is an error in the SSA published metadata, which incorrectly states that the survey was designed with 3080 PSUs. The survey was designed with 3324 PSUs.

access_policy

Access authority

Name	Affiliation	URL	Email
DataFirst	University of Cape Town		support@data1st.org

Access conditions

Public use files, available to all

Citation requirements

Statistics South Africa. Victims of crime survey 2017-2018[dataset]. Version 1.1. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa [producer], 2018. Cape Town: DataFirst [distributor], 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25828/8nb3-bg33

Contacts

Name	Affiliation	Email	URL
DataFirst Helpdesk	University of Cape Town	support@data1st.org

Metadata production

Producers

Name	Affiliation	Role
DataFirst	University of Cape Town	Metadata Producer

Date of Metadata Production

2020-12-03

Metadata version

DDI Document version

Version 4

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