More violence in crime.

[I Robot]

Disturbing M&G article here on violence in SA.

Some highlights:

Statistically a South African is 12 times more likely to be murdered than the average American and his chances of being killed are 50 times greater than if he lived in Western Europe. In countries not at war, only a Colombian has a greater chance of dying in a hail of gunfire.

"This in an extraordinarily violent society and nobody understands it," said Peter Gastrow, a crime analyst with the Institute for Security Studies in Cape Town.

"The reasons seem to be unbelievably complex. There is no explanation that makes sense. The million dollar question is, 'Why?' If we could understand that we could start to fix it. But we can't. All we can do now is ask religious people to pray for us," said Gastrow.

.....

Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula didn't help the government's public relations effort when he recently suggested that people who whine about crime should just leave the country.

That was shortly before the Jeppestown massacre. After that, a shaken Nqakula then urged police to "use [your] firearms to defend yourself and the lives of all peace-loving South Africans".

Rank and file police officers, concerned that 54 police officers have been killed already this year in South Africa recently demonstrated -- demanding better protection, more powerful weapons, and increased training to cope with organised, professional and better armed criminals.

"They are killing us. We need protection from the state," Tinus Ntimane, the police union's regional secretary told The Star newspaper in Johannesburg. – Sapa-AP

Now, when the cops want protection... I guess we're in trouble.

[Dave A]

This story on M&G might throw some light on the subject, particularly this little snippet:

"There are 84 959 inmates in our correctional detention centres for serious and violent crimes, including murder."

Almost a third were unsentenced inmates, whose cases were still before the courts.

That court backlog can't help.

[Candy Bouwer]

I still think another "Austraila" would be the answer.

[Dave A]

Maybe this is the new Australia. Would explain a few things.

[Dave A]

A comment seen fairly regularly is that we need to address the underlying causes of violent crime. Seems our President has been paying attention to the issue to, going by this article in M&G.

Almost 80% of murders in South Africa are committed by people who know their victim, and most occur in situations where people have been drinking, President Thabo Mbeki said on Thursday.

"You have something like ... almost 80%, for instance, of murders in the country occur among people who know one another; not among strangers."

Speaking in Cape Town at a meeting of the National House of Traditional Leaders (NHTL), he illustrated this point by saying it was unlikely anyone walking down Cape Town's Adderley Street would be pounced on and killed.

Earlier, members of the NHTL had vowed to help put a stop to high levels of domestic abuse in South Africa, a commitment Mbeki welcomed.

"As I was coming here by car, listening to the radio, they were talking about people setting up websites on the internet just dedicated to this matter of crime.

"The discussion between the callers and the journalists sitting in the studio, almost all of it was about what is the government doing and what are the police doing.

"And I was saying to myself we still haven't clearly communicated what is actually a very simple message: that rape occurs in houses. There is no police officer in the house. And there can't be police officers in our houses.

"What was missing from this discussion on the radio was this element: what are we doing as a people against this domestic abuse?"

Mbeki said Cabinet had discussed "various types of violent crime" during its meeting on Wednesday.

"You can see that a lot of the murder in this country occurs over weekends. Occurs in situations where people are drinking.

"The reason I say almost 80% of murders occur among people who know one another is because they are in that kind of setting. They get drunk, they quarrel, they take out knives and guns and break bottles and so on."

Mbeki said it was not feasible to post a police officer in every shebeen.

Now we're getting somewhere. The first step in applying solutions is to properly understand the problem.

Well done Thabo!

[Alan]

Is that the real problem though, or is the real problem bringing the criminals to justice?

[Dave A]

Four security guards were burnt to death in a heist gone wrong. There have been arrests, but apparently conditions in the jail are just not good enough.

Two stories that show the darker side of our country:

"I can't go on any more," were the last words whispered by murdered cash guard Deon Stein.

He was one of four security guards who died on Friday in Limpopo during a daring cash-in-transit heist when their security van was torched.

His father said that he bore an "ugly grudge" in his heart against his son's murderers.

"If I lay my hands on them, I'll set them on fire slowly, really slowly, piece by piece."

Stein died along with colleagues Marcus Malete, Dirk Kleynhans and Hennie Botha when they were trapped in their cash van which a foiled heist gang torched.
full story from News24 here

And then we move to scene 2:

The six men appearing in court after the horrific death of four security guards, whose van was set on fire, will be held in Polokwane Prison because of "appalling conditions" at Seshego police cells.

"My clients can't bathe and their families can't visit them. That's not right."
full story from News24 here

I know they're innocent until proven guilty, but Oh Boy - somehow I have limited sympathy for the alleged villains discomfort.

[The DP Team]

Yes Dave you are rite about SAP being scared. And I have 1st hand on knowing how it feels. I use too be a 2IB and my work was ging where to $%&* is. But being shot at is not the problem. They shot at me and I did at them. The problem is when I cought them after a lot of trouble and putting my lfe on the line the basterd walks around a week later. That is what is bothering the police. Why put our lives on the line for the criminal to walk after a week.

[Dave A]

That has just got to be so frustrating.

[The DP Team]

It is more than that it is heartbreaking to know that all that was to keep hm away for a week where we had to pay for him to live, eat and sleep