The real cost of crime

[Dave A]

One of the things that really burns me about crime is the high cost to the victim, the waste, and the fact that the perpetrators couldn't give a damn.

How about this one:

A shop owner and his employee were injured on Sunday when two armed robbers set his carpet shop in Bryanston's Epsom Downs Shopping Centre on fire.

The fire gutted several shops and destroyed half the shopping centre before it was brought under control, said Gauteng police spokesperson Superintendent Eugene Opperman.

Two armed men entered the Kaskai carpet shop at around 3.15pm and allegedly threatened the owner and an employee.

"They took a cellphone and purse before pouring a flammable liquid onto the carpet floor. They then set the shop alight before fleeing," Opperman said.

Johannesburg emergency services spokesperson Malcolm Midgley said the fire had been put out by Sunday evening.

"The entire one side of the building has been destroyed."

Among the 12 "line shops" which were burned down were a doctor's consulting rooms, a Dulce coffee shop, the Kaskai carpet shop, an optometrist, a chemist and a Nedbank branch, Midgley said.
full story from IOL here

Total value of products "redistributed" - <R1000.00?
Total cost of redistribution - measured in millions no doubt.

[SilverNodashi]

Have you ever thought about the frase, "crime pays"?

I don't want to be out of line when I say it, but crime pays in our country. Think about this. Who made money from this ordeal?

The insurance companies
The suppliers - for new supplies

To some extend this plays a big role in our economy........

[duncan drennan]

The insurance companies
The suppliers - for new supplies

To some extend this plays a big role in our economy........

Only problem is that it is not output driven, i.e. there is no real value being created through this process. Instead of taking raw materials and turning them into exportable products, we inevitably have to bring things into the country to create the replacements...and thus a blossoming trade deficit?

That may be totally incorrect, just a thought.

[Dave A]

I look at the value-add component to determine whether stuff that drives volume is good or bad.

Volume is one thing, but if there isn't value-add in there somewhere, sooner or later you've got to pay the piper.

If the value-add is a temporary sacrifice to get things moving, no problem. As long as there is a point where the value-add comes back - but now on a bigger volume.

The trouble with the cost of crime is, even if this might be seen as a mechanism to address social corrections, I just don't see how that turning point to nett gain is ever possible going down that route.

[duncan drennan]

I had never really though of the impact of crime this way, but this thread is causing some cogs to turn...

Say I import 1000 iPods at R1000 each, so R1mil has exited the country. On the way to the warehouse my truck is hijacked and all 1000 stolen. They are smuggled north across the border. Again another R1mil exits the country. Not nice...not nice at all.

Trade deficit goes up by R1mil, and there is absolutely no return on that. Trade deficit goes up, it puts pressure on the rand, rand decreases in value. I get my insurance pay-out (let's assume R1mil) and want to go buy another 1000 iPods. Now they cost me R1100 each (because the rand weakened). Effectively a R100000 disappears....poof!

[stephanfx]

Say I import 1000 iPods at R1000 each, so R1mil has exited the country. On the way to the warehouse my truck is hijacked and all 1000 stolen. They are smuggled north across the border. Again another R1mil exits the country. Not nice...not nice at all.

Trade deficit goes up by R1mil, and there is absolutely no return on that. Trade deficit goes up, it puts pressure on the rand, rand decreases in value. I get my insurance pay-out (let's assume R1mil) and want to go buy another 1000 iPods. Now they cost me R1100 each (because the rand weakened). Effectively a R100000 disappears....poof!

Incredible take on this, I never thought of it like that. Crime is truly ruining the whole import business. On the other hand it might improve the export business, as the rand depreciates, you get more rands for your buck. Kinda twisted in way

[Dave A]

And now you got me thinking down that line.

Say I import 1000 iPods at R1000 each, so R1mil has exited the country. On the way to the warehouse my truck is hijacked and all 1000 stolen. They are smuggled north across the border. Again another R1mil exits the country. Not nice...not nice at all.

So let's speculate that story a little further. The buyers up north of the border are a little short in hard currency, so they pay the local thieves in what they've got - copper, diamonds, drugs, whatever - say R2 million worth at "retail."

That's quite a tidy return.

[RKS Computer Solutions]

Taking it further the same people that sold your ipods up north for retail will now smuggle back their "payment goods" and sell it back here for a bargain price, bringing down the price paid to local companies and affect the currency in that division again....

The wheel turns...

[SilverNodashi]

It's sick, isn't it?

One product's (in fact one item, for that matter) value changes 5 times! And you're the sorry bloke who had to pay import tax on it, and may not even get the full R1mil back from insurance, since by the time you claim,
1. the products market value is lower
2. The insrunce co. thinks you shouldn't get the full amount, cause you didn't pay the correct duties
3. The rand / dollar has changed
4. Your insurance might feel this is a high risk product and you're under insured
5. The bank fees alone to get the insurance money is 3% (R30,000! / 30 iPods) - that's a bummer! From the insurance, to your bank account, eveyone involved + their kids / aunts could have gotten a free iPod.

[Debbiedle]

Hey don't forget that an iPOD with no music aint much fun! There is still the entire music piracy market as a spinoff to this scenario.

I don't think the end is in sight.......

[Dave A]

Knock off the 10% excess...

There's no doubt there are some winners. But it's certainly not our hero who brought in the iPods. And in a way we're all paying for that.

[stephanfx]

Now, the consumer has bought it and it gets stolen from their house, and the cycle begins again, insurance, etc. Might not be such a big influence on the economy, but there is just no end to the cost, from the importer to the consumer...

[RKS Computer Solutions]

Stephan, you just gave me a brilliant idea...

You know those notebook lockdown cables which locks into the notebook and you hook the other end to a 5ton cement block conveniently placed in your office for stopping thieves running off with your stuff...

If anyone is interested, I think I'll start a business out of this... How does 200kg blocks for an Ipod sound like? add 5kg per song you have paid for.... Contact me now as pricing is incredible and stock is sure to fly!!!!

[Dave A]

Call it the "Gym Pack Option."
How about a 50kg block for joggers.

This thread is killing me in more ways than one

[stephanfx]

My brother is a body builder... I think I will take 1 200kg block to give to him on his birthday!

Make that 2 (Dependant on price )