Open AccessGOOD NEWS AND BAD: Public perceptions of crime, corruption and government
Author(s) -
Robert Mattes
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
sa crime quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2413-3108
pISSN - 1991-3877
DOI - 10.17159/2413-3108/2006/v0i18a983
Subject(s) - language change , government (linguistics) , perception , public opinion , political science , fear of crime , criminology , public administration , public relations , law , sociology , politics , psychology , art , linguistics , philosophy , literature , neuroscience
Idasa and Afrobarometer public opinion surveys conducted since 1994 reveal that levels of reported experiences with crime are unchanged over the past four years, but that public perceptions of overall safety and the performance of the police are actually improving. Of greatest concern is that the January-February 2006 survey found that almost half of all South Africans think that “all” or “most” police officials are involved in corruption. These are the highest rates recorded across ten different types of public servants. In contrast to the improving trends in public perceptions of crime, citizen views of corruption in the police (and other government institutions) are becoming worse.