Studies have shown that community cohesion is an important factor in crime
reduction. Community cohesion has thrived in societies where there is a common
goal and a mutual sense of belonging. Such sense of belonging and common
vision has been shown to help reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim of
violent crime such as robbery and assault, regardless of socioeconomic status,
lifestyle and neighbourhood characteristics. This study examines the nexus
between community cohesion and crime in South Africa. This secondary data
analysis involved the 2014/2015 South African Victims of Crime Survey from
Statistics South Africa. Using a descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic
regression analysis, findings indicate that the percentage of female respondents
with community cohesion was higher than the male (96.9% vs. 95.7%; p<0.005).
A higher proportion of unemployed respondents had community cohesion than the
employed (97.8% vs. 94.6%; p<0.001). The higher the level of violent crime in an
area, the less the community cohesion (AOR: 0.97; p=0.016). Also, there was no
significant difference in community cohesion between the black, coloured and
Indian households. However, white households were less likely to have
community cohesion compared to blacks (AOR: 0.55; p<0.001). Those who
reported corruption in the public service as the non-violent crime occurring
mostly in their areas were less likely to have community cohesion compared to
who did not (AOR: 0.59; p=0.023).The findings show that there is a high
prevalence of community cohesion among the Black, Coloured and Indian
populations compared to the White community in South Africa