Gregory Breetzke
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 834622 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Gregory Breetzke |
| NOMBRES | Gregory |
| APELLIDO | Breetzke |
| FIRMA | BREETZKE G |
| AFILIACIONES | University of Pretoria |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0324-2254 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 27 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 102 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 27 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2006 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 6 |
Factors motivating community participation in the Bushbuckridge municipality in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa
Participation is a fundamental component of any community enrichment programme. Current knowledge and understanding about what motivates communities to participate in local community initiatives are however limited, especially in a South African context. This study aimed to identify the factors that motivates local community members to participate in the construction and running of early childhood development (ECD) centres in the Bushbuckridge mu…
The ‘contestation of crime’
Crime is a complex and multi-layered phenomenon that impacts the lives of every South African. One crime type – and its causes and consequences – that has been relatively under-researched in the country is livestock theft. This crime is becoming of increasingly concern due to its progressively organized nature and its consequential impact on local and national food security. In this study, we use a seminal spatial theory of crime – the routine ac…
A street segment analysis of crime in a township
Street segments as a micro-level unit of analysis have become increasingly popular in spatial crime research with a plethora of studies having shown how crime spatially concentrates at this spatial scale. The vast majority of this research has, however, emanated from the United States and other ‘Westernized’ cities, with little attention on less developed contexts. Developing countries have different structural and design conditions from develope…
Gang Membership and Gang Crime in New Zealand
In this exploratory study, we identify the spatial risk factors associated with gang membership and gang crime in New Zealand using social disorganization as a theoretical framework. Gang membership data from the Gang Intelligence Center and gang crime data from New Zealand Police are included in spatial regression models to identify risk factors. Overall marginal support was found for the use of social disorganization constructs to explain gang …
The Relationship Between City “Greenness” and Homicide in the US
Residents in US cities are exposed to high levels of stress and violent crime. At the same time, a number of cities have put forward “greening” efforts which may promote nature’s calming effects and reduce stressful stimuli. Previous research has shown that greening may lower aggressive behaviors and violent crime. In this study we examined, for the first time, the longitudinal effects over a 30-year period of average city greenness on homicide r…
The vagaries of variables
Studies using the social disorganisation theory as a framework to explain crime are commonplace globally. There are numerous inconsistencies however in the operationalisation of the theory with researchers using a plethora of different variables to represent the central tenets of the theory namely socio-economic deprivation, family disruption, residential mobility and ethnic heterogeneity. These inconsistencies bring into question the validity an…
Building neighbourhood-level resilience to crime
South Africa is crippled with high rates of crime. Examining factors that may build neighbourhood-level resilience to crime is central to reducing the poverty gap and lowering inequality particularly in impoverished communities. By drawing on theories from environmental criminology in this study we quantify and spatially locate resilient neighbourhoods in the township of Khayelitsha located on the urban periphery of Cape Town in South Africa. We …
Waste Disposal Practices in Low-Income Settlements of South Africa
Domestic solid waste is rapidly increasing due to accelerated population growth and urbanization. Improper waste disposal poses potential health risks and environmental concerns. Here, we investigated waste disposal practices in relation to household/dwelling characteristics in South African low-income communities. Data for 2014 to 2019 from a community-orientated primary care program were analyzed using logistic regression. Families who reported…
A global analysis of the impact of Covid-19 stay-at-home restrictions on crime
The stay-at-home restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19 led to unparalleled sudden change in daily life, but it is unclear how they affected urban crime globally. We collected data on daily counts of crime in 27 cities across 23 countries in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. We conducted interrupted time series analyses to assess the impact of stay-at-home restrictions on different types of crime in each city. Our findings s…
The changing and challenging research landscape in South Africa
In this paper we critically examine the research landscape in South Africa. We do this by documenting the progression and transformation of the country’s National Research Foundation (NRF)-rated researchers from 2005 to 2015. Results indicate that most NRF-rated researchers in South Africa are white and male but this trend is slowly changing with black Africans increasingly becoming rated. Significantly, the data indicate a clustering at the C-ra…
Modeling the risk of robbery in the city of Tshwane, South Africa
In this study, we model the risk of robbery in the City of Tshwane in South Africa. We use the collective knowledge of two prominent spatial theories of crime (social disorganization theory, and crime pattern theory) to guide the selection of data and employ rudimentary geospatial techniques to create a crude model that identifies the risk of future robbery incidents in the city. The model is validated using actual robbery incidences recorded for…
The academic staff profile of Geographers at higher education institutions (HEIs) in South Africa
South Africa’s first national democratic elections in 1994 marked a turning point in the history of the country. Since democracy much of the focus of African National Congress (ANC)-led government has been on redress and transformation across all spheres of society, including higher education. This paper examines one important aspect inherent in transforming higher education; that is, changing the academic staffing profile of its institutions to …
The proximity of sexual violence to schools
Salute to Reviewers 2017–2018/ Hommage aux évaluateurs de 2017–2018
The concentration of urban crime in space by race
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 c…
Opportunities across boundaries
Advances in technology have created opportunities for collaborative multi-institution programme delivery which are increasingly attractive within a constrained financial environment. This paper details the development of a cross-institution collaboratively delivered masters and postgraduate diploma programme in Geographical Information Science in New Zealand. We explore the benefits of such an approach as well as the lessons learnt from its imple…
The Effect of Neighborhood Recorded Crime on Fear
A number of individual and neighborhood‐level factors may influence the relationship between recorded crime in one’s neighborhood and fear of crime. Understanding these factors may assist in reducing fear, which has been associated with poorer physical and mental health. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the effect of recorded crime rates on fear differs based on the neighborhood social context (social fragmentation) using hierarchica…
Socially disorganized yet safe
The Association Between the Fear of Crime, and Mental and Physical Wellbeing in New Zealand
Is it safer behind the gates? Crime and gated communities in South Africa
Are feelings of peace or depression the drivers of the relationship between neighbourhood social fragmentation and mental health in Aotearoa/New Zealand
Understanding the magnitude and extent of crime in post-apartheid South Africa
The crime of apartheid (1951–1994) was predicated upon the spatial segregation of the country's diverse population according to certain state-defined racial groups. This socio-spatial redesign not only racialised South African cities but led to the concentrated disadvantage of the majority black population in certain segregated geographical areas. Despite democracy, apartheid's urban spatiality has not automatically dissolved but rather continues…
Modeling violent crime rates
Tests of social disorganization theory are commonplace in international criminological literature. Indeed a plethora of studies had emerged over the past seventy years examining and extending the theory throughout much of the developed world. The testing, however, of the landmark theory's key propositions in Africa in general, and South Africa in particular, is in its infancy. This study aimed to address this shortcoming by analyzing associations…
Informing a Crime Strategy for the Fifa 2010 World Cup
A Geodemographic Profiler for High Offender Propensity Areas in the City of Tshwane, South Africa
Postapartheid South Africa has been plagued by an increase in crime across all categories. While a significant amount of criminological research has been undertaken in the country, the spatial analysis of crime and offenders, a basic prerequisite for a functional crime management strategy, has not been adequately addressed at a sufficiently fine scale of aggregation. This paper reports on the geodemographic development of offender risk profiles f…
The Association Between the Fear of Crime, and Mental and Physical Wellbeing in New Zealand
A global analysis of the impact of Covid-19 stay-at-home restrictions on crime
The stay-at-home restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19 led to unparalleled sudden change in daily life, but it is unclear how they affected urban crime globally. We collected data on daily counts of crime in 27 cities across 23 countries in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. We conducted interrupted time series analyses to assess the impact of stay-at-home restrictions on different types of crime in each city. Our findings s…
Modeling violent crime rates
Tests of social disorganization theory are commonplace in international criminological literature. Indeed a plethora of studies had emerged over the past seventy years examining and extending the theory throughout much of the developed world. The testing, however, of the landmark theory's key propositions in Africa in general, and South Africa in particular, is in its infancy. This study aimed to address this shortcoming by analyzing associations…
Is it safer behind the gates? Crime and gated communities in South Africa
The Effect of Neighborhood Recorded Crime on Fear
A number of individual and neighborhood‐level factors may influence the relationship between recorded crime in one’s neighborhood and fear of crime. Understanding these factors may assist in reducing fear, which has been associated with poorer physical and mental health. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the effect of recorded crime rates on fear differs based on the neighborhood social context (social fragmentation) using hierarchica…
The proximity of sexual violence to schools
The concentration of urban crime in space by race
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 c…
Crossing the racial divide
A Geodemographic Profiler for High Offender Propensity Areas in the City of Tshwane, South Africa
Postapartheid South Africa has been plagued by an increase in crime across all categories. While a significant amount of criminological research has been undertaken in the country, the spatial analysis of crime and offenders, a basic prerequisite for a functional crime management strategy, has not been adequately addressed at a sufficiently fine scale of aggregation. This paper reports on the geodemographic development of offender risk profiles f…
Are feelings of peace or depression the drivers of the relationship between neighbourhood social fragmentation and mental health in Aotearoa/New Zealand
Understanding the magnitude and extent of crime in post-apartheid South Africa
The crime of apartheid (1951–1994) was predicated upon the spatial segregation of the country's diverse population according to certain state-defined racial groups. This socio-spatial redesign not only racialised South African cities but led to the concentrated disadvantage of the majority black population in certain segregated geographical areas. Despite democracy, apartheid's urban spatiality has not automatically dissolved but rather continues…
A Critique of Distance Learning as an Educational Tool for GIS in South Africa
The advancement of distance learning as an educational tool for geographic information systems (GIS) has been at the forefront of educational development at tertiary institutions in the last decade in South Africa. Distance education is envisaged as a means whereby previously disadvantaged members of society, of all ages, can enrol either directly or remotely at a tertiary education institution at a reduced cost. The experiences of the UNIGIS dis…
The academic staff profile of Geographers at higher education institutions (HEIs) in South Africa
South Africa’s first national democratic elections in 1994 marked a turning point in the history of the country. Since democracy much of the focus of African National Congress (ANC)-led government has been on redress and transformation across all spheres of society, including higher education. This paper examines one important aspect inherent in transforming higher education; that is, changing the academic staffing profile of its institutions to …
Socially disorganized yet safe
Crossing the racial divide
A Critique of Distance Learning as an Educational Tool for GIS in South Africa
The advancement of distance learning as an educational tool for geographic information systems (GIS) has been at the forefront of educational development at tertiary institutions in the last decade in South Africa. Distance education is envisaged as a means whereby previously disadvantaged members of society, of all ages, can enrol either directly or remotely at a tertiary education institution at a reduced cost. The experiences of the UNIGIS dis…
Informing a Crime Strategy for the Fifa 2010 World Cup
A Geodemographic Profiler for High Offender Propensity Areas in the City of Tshwane, South Africa
Postapartheid South Africa has been plagued by an increase in crime across all categories. While a significant amount of criminological research has been undertaken in the country, the spatial analysis of crime and offenders, a basic prerequisite for a functional crime management strategy, has not been adequately addressed at a sufficiently fine scale of aggregation. This paper reports on the geodemographic development of offender risk profiles f…
Modeling violent crime rates
Tests of social disorganization theory are commonplace in international criminological literature. Indeed a plethora of studies had emerged over the past seventy years examining and extending the theory throughout much of the developed world. The testing, however, of the landmark theory's key propositions in Africa in general, and South Africa in particular, is in its infancy. This study aimed to address this shortcoming by analyzing associations…
Understanding the magnitude and extent of crime in post-apartheid South Africa
The crime of apartheid (1951–1994) was predicated upon the spatial segregation of the country's diverse population according to certain state-defined racial groups. This socio-spatial redesign not only racialised South African cities but led to the concentrated disadvantage of the majority black population in certain segregated geographical areas. Despite democracy, apartheid's urban spatiality has not automatically dissolved but rather continues…
Is it safer behind the gates? Crime and gated communities in South Africa
Are feelings of peace or depression the drivers of the relationship between neighbourhood social fragmentation and mental health in Aotearoa/New Zealand
The Association Between the Fear of Crime, and Mental and Physical Wellbeing in New Zealand
Opportunities across boundaries
Advances in technology have created opportunities for collaborative multi-institution programme delivery which are increasingly attractive within a constrained financial environment. This paper details the development of a cross-institution collaboratively delivered masters and postgraduate diploma programme in Geographical Information Science in New Zealand. We explore the benefits of such an approach as well as the lessons learnt from its imple…
The Effect of Neighborhood Recorded Crime on Fear
A number of individual and neighborhood‐level factors may influence the relationship between recorded crime in one’s neighborhood and fear of crime. Understanding these factors may assist in reducing fear, which has been associated with poorer physical and mental health. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the effect of recorded crime rates on fear differs based on the neighborhood social context (social fragmentation) using hierarchica…
Socially disorganized yet safe
The concentration of urban crime in space by race
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 c…
The proximity of sexual violence to schools
Salute to Reviewers 2017–2018/ Hommage aux évaluateurs de 2017–2018
The changing and challenging research landscape in South Africa
In this paper we critically examine the research landscape in South Africa. We do this by documenting the progression and transformation of the country’s National Research Foundation (NRF)-rated researchers from 2005 to 2015. Results indicate that most NRF-rated researchers in South Africa are white and male but this trend is slowly changing with black Africans increasingly becoming rated. Significantly, the data indicate a clustering at the C-ra…
Modeling the risk of robbery in the city of Tshwane, South Africa
In this study, we model the risk of robbery in the City of Tshwane in South Africa. We use the collective knowledge of two prominent spatial theories of crime (social disorganization theory, and crime pattern theory) to guide the selection of data and employ rudimentary geospatial techniques to create a crude model that identifies the risk of future robbery incidents in the city. The model is validated using actual robbery incidences recorded for…
The academic staff profile of Geographers at higher education institutions (HEIs) in South Africa
South Africa’s first national democratic elections in 1994 marked a turning point in the history of the country. Since democracy much of the focus of African National Congress (ANC)-led government has been on redress and transformation across all spheres of society, including higher education. This paper examines one important aspect inherent in transforming higher education; that is, changing the academic staffing profile of its institutions to …
Building neighbourhood-level resilience to crime
South Africa is crippled with high rates of crime. Examining factors that may build neighbourhood-level resilience to crime is central to reducing the poverty gap and lowering inequality particularly in impoverished communities. By drawing on theories from environmental criminology in this study we quantify and spatially locate resilient neighbourhoods in the township of Khayelitsha located on the urban periphery of Cape Town in South Africa. We …
Waste Disposal Practices in Low-Income Settlements of South Africa
Domestic solid waste is rapidly increasing due to accelerated population growth and urbanization. Improper waste disposal poses potential health risks and environmental concerns. Here, we investigated waste disposal practices in relation to household/dwelling characteristics in South African low-income communities. Data for 2014 to 2019 from a community-orientated primary care program were analyzed using logistic regression. Families who reported…
A global analysis of the impact of Covid-19 stay-at-home restrictions on crime
The stay-at-home restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19 led to unparalleled sudden change in daily life, but it is unclear how they affected urban crime globally. We collected data on daily counts of crime in 27 cities across 23 countries in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. We conducted interrupted time series analyses to assess the impact of stay-at-home restrictions on different types of crime in each city. Our findings s…
Gang Membership and Gang Crime in New Zealand
In this exploratory study, we identify the spatial risk factors associated with gang membership and gang crime in New Zealand using social disorganization as a theoretical framework. Gang membership data from the Gang Intelligence Center and gang crime data from New Zealand Police are included in spatial regression models to identify risk factors. Overall marginal support was found for the use of social disorganization constructs to explain gang …
The Relationship Between City “Greenness” and Homicide in the US
Residents in US cities are exposed to high levels of stress and violent crime. At the same time, a number of cities have put forward “greening” efforts which may promote nature’s calming effects and reduce stressful stimuli. Previous research has shown that greening may lower aggressive behaviors and violent crime. In this study we examined, for the first time, the longitudinal effects over a 30-year period of average city greenness on homicide r…
The vagaries of variables
Studies using the social disorganisation theory as a framework to explain crime are commonplace globally. There are numerous inconsistencies however in the operationalisation of the theory with researchers using a plethora of different variables to represent the central tenets of the theory namely socio-economic deprivation, family disruption, residential mobility and ethnic heterogeneity. These inconsistencies bring into question the validity an…
The ‘contestation of crime’
Crime is a complex and multi-layered phenomenon that impacts the lives of every South African. One crime type – and its causes and consequences – that has been relatively under-researched in the country is livestock theft. This crime is becoming of increasingly concern due to its progressively organized nature and its consequential impact on local and national food security. In this study, we use a seminal spatial theory of crime – the routine ac…
Sociology (21 obras) · Geography (18 obras) · Crime Patterns and Interventions (17 obras) · Criminology (16 obras) · Psychology (12 obras) · Economics (11 obras) · Political science (10 obras) · Economic growth (9 obras) · Socioeconomics (8 obras) · Medicine (7 obras)