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The study investigates the nexus between income inequality and crime in the two provinces of Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The study adopted a qualitative research approach, which combines both primary and secondary data sources, including interviews with nine participants and consultation with academic journals, monographs and reports, respectively. Thematic data analysis was utilised to analyse the participants' insights. The theoretical frameworks are relative deprivation theory and economic theory of crime. Inequality breeds social jealousy in societies and seemingly culminates in crime. The findings of this study revealed that the country’s history coated in apartheid and other factors are responsible for the high income inequality in South Africa, which in turn is a major factor influencing crime in the country. It recommended that through good leadership by the political class, objective anti-corruption drive and provision of infrastructure, the private sector would thrive so that they can provide more jobs. The study also recommended that good education and skill acquisition to promote the entrepreneurship capacity and employability of youths should be promoted.

The widespread fear of crime and its detrimental consequences have propelled various research studies on the correlates of fear of crime. An impressive body of knowledge has accumulated, which informs both scholars and policymakers of the correlates of fear of crime. However, very little is known about the fear of crime among immigrant populations. Fear of crime associated with immigrants remains a global phenomenon, which drives political rhetoric, media discourse, policymaking, criminal justice, and immigration control and enforcement. The perceived association between immigrants and criminality is a phenomenon with deep historical roots that transcends any particular culture. It is linked to ethnocentrism and othering, wherein dominant groups react to their exposure to alien cultural practices by criminalizing those practices and dehumanizing the immigrants who practice them. The study aims to explore the level of fear of crime among illicit immigrants. Literature analysis was adopted as a methodology to explore the factors impacting the level of fear and the places where illicit immigrants are likely to be victimised are further discussed. The study contributes significantly to the finding that higher crime levels in countries increase the fear of crime; however, they do not affect feelings of unsafety. Social protection expenditure proves to be an important determinant of both fears of crime and feelings of unsafety. Moreover, distrust in the police, generalized social distrust, and perceived ethnic threat induce fear of crime as well as feelings of unsafety. When considered in the context of social harm, immigrants’ relationship to crime and criminality becomes more complex. The study recommends that protective factors, such as neighborhood informal social control, social networks, cultural norms, and expectations about migration and life overall, may contribute to the lower rates of crime and violence among illicit immigrant groups.

This article examines municipalities on implementation and coordination of social crime prevention programmes in addressing social issues. The White Paper on Safety and Security (1998) clearly proposed that local government should be responsible for implementing and coordinating social crime prevention programmes within areas of concern. Therefore, it is argued that the provincial government is closest to citizens and inimitably placed to contribute to social crime prevention initiatives and readdress the delivery of services to deal with crime prevention successfully. There is little information about this matter in South Africa. This article will reveal the challenges municipalities and the department of social development face on social issues. There seems to be a repetition of social programmes in addressing social issues and there are no programmes targeting youth at risk, juvenile delinquency and child-headed households’ issues. The study concludes that the municipalities should consider the review in social crime prevention strategies to better align its programmes to the provincial mandates. Municipalities should further demonstrate regularly how it responds to social issues that might perpetuate the crime rate. 

This article explores the nature and extent of crime in the railway environment in South Africa. Crimes against Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, Transnet Freight Rail, Gautrain, and commuters are prevalent and the victims are being exposed to serious damage emanating from criminal activities. The challenges and implications for individuals and businesses, rich or poor consumers are recurrent themes in this study. A qualitative research approach was adopted to follow a non-probability purposive sample comprising 25 participants from the South African Police Service Rapid Rail Police Units. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews from research participants deployed in the Division: Visible Policing. The findings highlighted that the most prevalent crimes are cable theft, robberies and malicious property damage. The targeted trains are the Metro trains that operate locally, as they transport many commuters because it is the affordable mode of public transport in South Africa. The perpetrators also target this mode of transport because the train stations have an open system where perpetrators can easily access the entrance, therefore some do not even buy tickets and board the trains illegally. It is understood that Gautrain has a closed system and the security is advanced and watertight because of extra security measures such as the closed-circuit television cameras. Based on the findings, effective implementation of policies to improve safety is essential. Critical dialogues between all relevant.