Good news and bad: public perceptions of crime, corruption and government

Robert Mattes

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Abstract

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.
LanguageEnglish
Pages6-10
Number of pages5
JournalSA Crime Quarterly
Volume18
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Dec 2006

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corruption
police
news
offense
servants
public opinion
citizen
trend
performance
experience

Keywords

  • crime
  • safety
  • South Africa
  • police
  • corruption
  • public perception

Cite this

Mattes, Robert. / Good news and bad : public perceptions of crime, corruption and government. 2006 ; Vol. 18. pp. 6-10.
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Mattes, R 2006, 'Good news and bad: public perceptions of crime, corruption and government' vol. 18, pp. 6-10. https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3108/2006/v0i18a983

Good news and bad : public perceptions of crime, corruption and government. / Mattes, Robert.

Vol. 18, 30.12.2006, p. 6-10.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

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AB - 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.

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Mattes R. Good news and bad: public perceptions of crime, corruption and government. 2006 Dec 30;18:6-10. https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3108/2006/v0i18a983

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