Abstract
This chapter introduces the key case study of the book, South Africa, and shows why this country is an opportune place within which to examine the political consequences of non-state security provision. It first lays out the historical context, showing the long history of non-state security reliance in this country. It discusses how, under apartheid, both the state and ordinary citizens relied heavily on various forms of non-state security, and how much of this reliance was connected to the politicization of crime and the politicization of the police force under that regime. The chapter then moves to the post-apartheid and contemporary period. It suggests that even under the post-apartheid democratic order, crime and security remain salient issues in South Africa and the heavy reliance on non-state security persists. The chapter suggests several possible explanations for this outcome and explores over time trends in crime using official police statistics and South African National Victims of Crime surveys. It also uses public opinion surveys to determine South Africans’ attitudes toward crime and whether and how these attitudes have shifted over time.
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Notes
- 1.
Necklacing refers to the practice of placing an oil-filled tire about someone’s neck and then setting the tire aflame.
- 2.
In an interview with a provincial head for Business Against Crime, a major non-profit that works with government to fight crime in South Africa, he mentioned that the change to the new police force after the 1994 transition could be witnessed by the change in uniform. He smirked as he remarked that the police had “traded in their fatigues for their baby blues” referring to the blue uniforms that the police now wear. For him, this change was problematic; in his mind, the police under the new order had become soft and, as a result, people had “lost respect” for them.
- 3.
Data on the exact composition of the police force are no longer made publicly available. However, SAPS does post the names and some pictures of high-ranking police officials on their website. From these profiles, it is clear that the upper ranks of the police force have been transformed from predominantly white officers to predominantly black ones. There also appears to be a greater degree of gender diversity within SAPS.
- 4.
Under apartheid, the ruling National Party divided the country into 11 different states known as “homelands”. These homelands were developed so that each ethnic group could have its own territory. Under this system, black people were not citizens of South Africa; rather they were citizens of their respective homelands. Needless to say, the provision of public goods was substandard in the homelands. Under this system, there was a separate policing agency for each homeland. The interim constitution abolished the homeland system and the new constitution signed into law in 1996 established a single, national police force for all of South Africa.
- 5.
Afrobarometer, the largest cross-national public opinion survey in Africa, asks citizens what they perceive to be the most important problem facing their nation. South Africans have consistently rated crime and security as one of the tops concerns, often coming second only to the issue of unemployment.
- 6.
Columbia had the highest murder rate at the time. Others countries in the sample were (in descending order of murder rate) Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Swaziland, Mongolia, Suriname, Lithuania, Latvia, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Uganda, Estonia, Moldova, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Georgia, Uruguay, Peru, and the United States.
- 7.
Data on crime trends come from annual reports released by the South African Police Service (SAPS).
- 8.
Results from the 2016/2017 Victims of Crime Survey show that 45% of households in South Africa believe that home robbery is the crime that is feared the most followed by 42% for robbery outside the home. The figures for these two types of robbery come second only to housebreaking/burglary, since 51% of households believe that this is the crime that is feared the most. Note that individuals were allowed to choose more than one crime that they feared the most.
- 9.
Many times these reports did not include full descriptive information such as the N for the particular indicator that was being reported.
- 10.
When respondents in my 2010–2012 survey were asked if “crime in your neighborhood is increasing, decreasing, or remaining the same?”, exactly half said “increasing”.
- 11.
The minibus taxi is a popular mode of transportation in South Africa. Each taxi carries approximately 16 passengers. The cost of transportation is relatively inexpensive (generally no more than 5 Rand [less than US$1]) and therefore comprises the mode of transportation most often used by poor people.
- 12.
Because of the various ways in which robbery has been defined over time, VOCS reports only release the robbery figures for 2011 and 2012, since these are the only two years for which the data were comparable. Victimization statistics did not appear to be readily available for the surveys conducted after 2012.
- 13.
Respondents were allowed to give more than one response to the question of which crimes were feared the most.
- 14.
This sentiment was echoed as recently as October 2012 when Commissioner Lamoer for the Western Cape said “Safety is not only a police problem, it needs efforts from all of us. Co-operation must be strengthened and we don’t need to be vigilantes to clear the streets.” October 19, 2012. Cape Argus (South Africa) “New station for hot spot; Second cop shop for Nyanga—the W. Cape’s murder capital.”
- 15.
Other types of commercial security companies include, for example, those that provide bodyguarding, cash-in-transit services, security consultancy, entertainment/venue control, and car watch, just to name a few. In many cases, a business will provide several of these services and therefore may be counted more than once.
- 16.
South African Police Service (SAPS) Head Office Brigadier. Personal interview. March 15, 2011.
- 17.
Member of Johannesburg Mayoral Committee on Public Safety. Personal interview. March 22, 2011.
- 18.
CPF chairperson. Personal interview. December 30, 2010.
- 19.
See Steinberg Thin Blue: The Unwritten Rules of Policing South Africa for a vivid account of how police are aware of, yet turn a blind eye to, community violence against alleged criminals.
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Kushner, D.C. (2019). Non-state Security in South Africa: Historical Roots, Contemporary Realities. In: The Politics of Everyday Crime in Africa. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98095-9_2
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