Sadly, the trend of fatal police shootings in the United States seems to only be increasing, with a total 1,173 civilians having been shot, 248 of whom were Black, as of December 2024. In 2023, there were 1,164 fatal police shootings. Additionally, the rate of fatal police shootings among Black Americans was much higher than that for any other ethnicity, standing at 6.1 fatal shootings per million of the population per year between 2015 and 2024. Police brutality in the U.S. In recent years, particularly since the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, police brutality has become a hot button issue in the United States. The number of homicides committed by police in the United States is often compared to those in countries such as England, where the number is significantly lower. Black Lives Matter The Black Lives Matter Movement, formed in 2013, has been a vocal part of the movement against police brutality in the U.S. by organizing “die-ins”, marches, and demonstrations in response to the killings of black men and women by police. While Black Lives Matter has become a controversial movement within the U.S., it has brought more attention to the number and frequency of police shootings of civilians.

Abstract

The primary aim of the VCS is to establish the prevalence of particular kinds of crime within a certain population. The 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 victimization • Provide complimentary data on the level of crime within South Africa in addition to the statistics published annually by the South African Police Service.

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

Households and individuals

Universe

Victims of crime 2017-2018 statistics are population estimates of the level of crime in South Africa. The target population of the survey consists of all private households in all nine provinces of South Africa, as well as 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-institutionalized and non-military persons or households in South Africa.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sample design for the VOCS 2017/18 was based on a Master Sample (MS) originally designed for the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) as a sampling frame. The MS is based on information collected during the 2001 Population Census conducted by Stats SA. The MS has been developed as a general-purpose household survey frame that can be used by all household-based surveys, irrespective of the sample size requirement of the survey. The VOCS 2017/18, like all other household-based surveys, uses an MS of primary sampling units (PSUs) which comprises census enumeration areas (EAs) that are drawn from across the country.

The sample for the VOCS 2017/18 used a stratified two-stage design with probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling of PSUs in the first stage, and sampling of dwelling units (DUs) with systematic sampling in the second stage. The sample was designed to be representative at provincial level. A self-weighting design at provincial level was used and MS stratification was divided into two levels. Primary stratification was defined by metropolitan and non-metropolitan geographic area type. During secondary stratification, the Census 2001 data was summarized at PSU level. The following variables were used for secondary stratification: household size, education, occupancy status, gender, industry and income.

A randomized probability proportional to size (RPPS) systematic sample of PSUs was drawn in each stratum, with the measure of size being the number of households in the PSU. A sample size of 3 080 PSUs was selected. In each selected PSU, a systematic sample of dwelling units was drawn. The number of DUs selected per PSU varies from PSU to PSU and depends on the inverse sampling ratios (ISR) of each PSU. The sample size for the VOCS 2017/18 is approximately 30 000 dwelling units.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The VOCS 2017/18 questionnaire was developed based on the questionnaires used in the International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS) and previous VOCSs (both conducted by ISS and Stats SA), with modifications in some instances. The Stats SA questionnaire design standard for household surveys was also used as a normative reference. In order to minimize fieldworker and capturing errors, the questionnaire was mainly pre-coded. During the process of questionnaire design, workshops were held. Participants included representatives from various government departments, especially from the safety and security cluster, non-governmental organizations, researchers, and other stakeholders. The questionnaire was tested behind the glass and within selected households in Gauteng. Before finalization, the draft version of the questionnaire was presented nationally and internationally to gain input. There is a household and an individual questionnaire, as well a subset of questions called sections 21 to 28.

Sections 21-28 required that an individual be randomly selected from the household to respond to questions classified as individual crimes. The methodology used was to select a person 16 years or older, whose birthday was the first to follow the survey date.

Cleaning operations

In general, editing (i.e. invalid or inconsistent responses) and imputation (i.e. blanks within the questionnaire) were used for item non-response. The eligible households in the sampled dwellings can be divided into two response categories: respondents and non-respondents. Weight adjustment is applied to account for the non-respondent households (e.g. refusal, non-contact).

Data appraisal

Comparability over the series:

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 victimization experiences reported by respondents interviewed in a period of 12 months relate to a broader span of 23 months.

Prior to 2017/18, VOCS respondents were asked about their crime-related experiences in the previous calendar year, but the VOCS 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 victimization experiences reported by respondents interviewed in a period of 12 months relate to a broader span of 23 months.

This present VCS, 2017/2018, is the last before VCS became incorporated 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.