By Saul Molobi
The right to security, including the freedom from violent crime is a human right provided for in the Bill of Rights, specifically Section 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. This right applies to all those who live in the country.
Defining violent crime
World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence as “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation” and crime “an action that violates the law, regardless of whether or not it involves violence.”
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) further identifies some of the categories of violent crimes in South Africa such as assault related to arguments, domestic violence and other circumstances including murder, robbery and other violent property crime, rape and sexual assault, violent child abuse, and violence against state and economic institutions.
Drawing from the definition of violent crime above, it is evident that there can never be a one-size-fits-all solution to dealing with the, since it crosses fields such as criminology, psychology, sociology, economics, and even urban development.
Possible causes of crime
As one zooms into crime from a socioeconomic and developmental context, South Africa’s triple difficulties of poverty, inequality, and unemployment are well established, bringing in a sociology perspective in relation to the causes of the occurrence. The country’s development blueprint, National Development Plan (NDP) records that: “The combination of poor and inadequate state welfare services and poverty and inequality produces social problems and high-risk behaviour.”
Additional causes include family difficulties, peer pressure, delinquency, truancy, and substance misuse, making it difficult to pinpoint a single cause of crime and necessitating a multifaceted approach to dealing with violent crime.
Crime statistics for 2022/23 Quarter 3 announced by the Minister of Police point to a 11.6% and 7.2% increase respectively for all contact and property related crimes.
In terms of contact crimes, the story of Thabo Bester, commonly called the ‘Facebook rapist’ comes to mind. Bester, who also used the aliases TK Nkwana or Tom Motsepe, lured ladies on social media with promise of modelling contracts or business deals, wherein he raped them after agreeing to meet, killing some in the process.
Without discounting the reported gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) cases which are reported to be at crisis levels in South Africa, the country is still grappling with the after-effects of greed which can be witnessed in the alleged state capture corruption. These allegations were presented before The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State or Zondo Commission as it is commonly known.
State capture corruption apparently resulted in financial losses of no less than R57 billion, money which was earmarked for socioeconomic development, that is the improvement of the lives of South Africans. State organs such as Eskom and Transnet were severely affected in this regard, which surely resulted in the capacity of the country’s main electricity supplier to deal with loadshedding being compromised.
The Zondo Commission hearings cost the fiscus about R1 billon, with the failed attempt to extradite the Guptas who are alleged state capture masterminds from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) thus casting doubt whether this was money well spent. The recent acquittal of all suspects in the Nulane investment fraud and money laundering case is also another question mark.
South Africa’s interventions
The criminal justice system or Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster in South Africa is organised into six parts. These parts are the police which is the South African Police Service (SAPS), prosecution service that is the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), and presiding officer, that is the magistrate or judge and courts. Furthermore, there is the Department of Justice, Department of Correctional Services (DCS), and the probation officer or social worker under the Minister of Social Development (DSD).
Work of the parts of the criminal justice system is aligned with the priorities outlined in the NDP towards a crime-free South Africa. The community policing forum (CPF) approach is specifically linked to the priorities on building safety using an integrated approach and building community participation in community safety.
In this regard, the JCPS Cluster has thus seen one of its long-planned actions, establishment of a border management agency come to fruition. The Border Management Authority (BMA), under the executive authority of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) was recently established. The BMA is managing migration, customs, and land borders control services, as well as effectively coordinating the services of other departments at ports of entry.
The government’s Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Plan, which addresses the root causes of crime, will be expedited to improve community and national safety and security. After all, dealing with crime remains a multi-stakeholder responsibility and effort, that is the government, communities, civil society, and the private sector.
Some of the oversight mechanisms put in place to monitor the work of the JCPS cluster include the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS), and relevant Parliament Portfolio Committees.
A lot of international syndicates have made South Africa springboard into which they’ve conducted crimes of an international nature, targeting first world countries. One of such recent incidents is a report on three Nigerian nationals, conducting their fraudulent activities from Johannesburg, have been nabbed for theft amounting to 116 million Rands.
The three were allegedly targeting U.S. companies, hacking them, and stealing information. They will now be extradited to the US, where there could be facing a very lengthy federal prison sentence.
This was a joint operation between HAWKS – Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), working together with the United States Homeland Security Secret Service, US Department of Justice, Interpol office in Pretoria, working together with the task force, were able to take the syndicate down. This type of relationship is a very valued as most cyber-crimes are targeted at the UK and the United States.
Despite the fact that South Africa has been grey-listed and we have had capacity and infrastructure issues, South Africa sent a clear message to international criminals that they cannot make South Africa their playground.
One of the areas highlighted in grey-listing findings is the inability to fight crime, especially financial crimes of this nature. With such collaborations, SA seems to be moving in the right direction.
One of the downsides to state capture was that our law enforcement agencies and criminal justice systems were seen to be crippled and, in some ways, incapacitated. That’s not to say they’re not capable, but that they are lacking in certain areas of resources, infrastructure and they are just overwhelmed with the sheer number of cases.
Law enforcement was hollowed out during the capture years, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have the necessary skill set and the necessary members wanting to make a difference.
Way forward
Of late, South Africa expressed serious concerns about the torching of trucks in different provinces which is denting the image and reputation of the country, while there are other instruments that people can use to air their grievances if any. The level of damage to property has been described as being equivalent to economic sabotage and the consequences for the country’s economic prospects in terms of investor confidence may be severe. The timing of these heinous acts is also disturbing, understanding that South Africa is on the verge of hosting international dignitaries who will be attending the BRICS summit that will be held in Johannesburg next month.
To this end, South Africans and investors are rightfully anxious about the negative impact violent crimes on investor confidence and economic activity. In this regard, the prosecution should work hard to ensure that there is success in the cases emanating from all law enforcement investigations to ensure that perpetrators are bought to book.
In terms of ensuring that the work of all the parts of the criminal justice system is effective, all oversight mechanisms should be functional while there should be clear and deliberate communication plan on the steps taken to restore the reputation of the JCPS cluster thus investor confidence.