The concentration of urban crime in space by race : evidence from South Africa

Abstract

Crime inequality in neighborhoods by race is blamed on social inequalities borne out of segregation and economic discrimination. South Africa is a country synonymous with racial-spatial segregation and discrimination as a result of legislatively enforced policies of the former apartheid government. This study examines whether urban crime inequalities by race exist in the city of Tshwane, South Africa and identifies the empirical causes of these crime inequalities. Violent and sexual crime was found to concentrate in Black African neighborhoods, while property crime was concentrated in neighborhoods classified as “Mixed”. The causes of crime in neighborhoods were found to vary across racial groups with results suggesting non-uniformity in the extent to which the various constructs impact crime based on race. The results challenge the notion that segregation and economic discrimination uniformly impacts affected communities. Explanations for the findings are provided in the context of an increasingly eclectic post-apartheid South African city.