Do crime generators exist in a developing context? An exploratory study in the township of Khayelitsha, South Africa

Abstract

Crime generators are places that increase the risk of crime occurring due mainly to the fact that they attract a large number of motivated offenders and suitable targets to a particular location. Research identifying crime generators has however almost exclusively been confined to the United States and Europe with much less known about the ability of businesses, institutions, and/or public facilities to generate crime in less developed contexts, particularly in Africa. In this study we explore whether four different types of facilities act as crime generators in a setting axiomatically different to the West, namely Khayelitsha, a township located on the urban periphery of Cape Town in South Africa. Using intensity value analysis (IVA), we examine the intensity of assault, robbery and rape around four different types of facilities (schools, recreational hubs, transport interchanges, and alcohol outlets) relative to other random locations in Khayelitsha. The results of our research suggest that schools, and to a lesser extent transport interchanges and recreational hubs, may act as crime generators in the township. Possible explanations for these findings conclude.