PERCEIVED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IMMIGRATION AND CRIME LEVELS IN TSHWANE
Date
2011-03-22
Authors
Banza, Notalente Samela Nontsikelelo
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Abstract
Migration, especially undocumented migration, has been a concern for quite a while
in South Africa as a result of popular misunderstanding that the presence of
immigrants heightens crime levels. The spread of this belief has led to the widespread
mistreatment of immigrants within our communities, which include human rights
abuses and xenophobic attacks. In a bid to minimise risks to South Africa’s
development and democracy, the purpose of this research is to investigate and
understand the basis of these perceptions in the Tshwane Metropolitan area, that
associate immigration with crime. A qualitative approach in the form of in-depth
interviews was used in conducting this research. This method gives a comprehensive
and complete understanding of different individual’s experiences on the perceived
link between immigration and crime. The main findings of the research are that
immigrants do contribute to some acts of crime, like any other citizen, but their exact
contribution cannot be determined with precision, as there are no available statistics to
validate the link. The research has therefore demonstrated that the perceptions
claiming that immigration increases crime levels in the area cannot be independently
verified.
Description
MM - P&DM
Keywords
Immigration, Crime, Tshwane