Why this obsession with South African crime statistics?

Question

I listen to South African radio stations daily. And every news bulletin has to report on crime stats. Do we need these stats in order to point finger or do we need it to makes ourselves believe that the government wants to be open about it? Apartheid restricted the mobility of a person. Now that everyone can go anywhere, isn't it obvious that the crime stats will increase? And why is white-collar crime almost never mentioned in these stats?

Guys, please answer the question and don't submit to an overwhelming desire to attack any person or government. The question is on obsession. Disregard my first comments and direct yourself to the question.

Answer 1

I agree with stingray.
Apartheid was an invisible fence, that "protected" the white man.
he didnt care what the other 75% of the population got up to, as long as it didnt involve any other white people it was fine.
Crime was also only ever reported in the paper, on the news or to the police, if a black person hurt a white one, and then it was twisted into propoganda eg "This is why we keep these black people away, cause look what they do"
Black on black crime was never reported (and the police ignored it) cause no white person cared, and White on white crime was never reported, cause that would prove that the white man isnt the holy angel he makes out to be.
When apartheid ended, these invisible fences came down, and freedom of speech became possible.
Suddenly we could hear about all the crime (that had been there all along to begin with) of 100% of the population, not 25%.
Of course white supremist hoping for the return of apartheid would say: "Look at the terrible crime"
but it had been there all along, in the homelands and the slums, and now people are pissed off, cause the problem they ignored so long had come back to bite them in the @ss!
We can point a finger at the current goverment for not doing enough for our security, but it is not their fault the crime is there to begin with.
And to get back to you're question Porgie, I think in the case of white conservatives, its what the Germans call "saggenfreude", to get pleasure out of you're enemies troubles, and in the case of non conservatives, their hoping things will speed up if they moan, and SA will get better sooner.
But the fact of the matter is, all this pointing out crime, and not actually doing something about it is worst, especially with the white collar crime (the scams etc). instead of filling websites with horror stories that chase our foreign investors away, we should instead try and think of ways to make SA better, strickter punishment for white collar crime, education and jobs to get potential criminals of the streets, and out of the slums. And incouraging foreign investors to come to SA. Cause they would help generate more wealth that would help to improve our country.
I realise it is easier said than done, but sitting around simply talking about the bad wont help, it's time we all start doing something.

Answer 2

Me thinks that our obsession with the statistics and with the crime rate in general stems from an overall fear (yes I did say fear- if we really think hard about it. I mean I'm afraid of being hijacked, raped and murdered and I'm afraid of it happening to loved ones.) of being a direct victim of crime, and since crime is so rampant, we are bombarded by stories and reports of crime all day, everyday. The fact that there doesn't seem to be a decline (I know the stats say crime on the overall is down) in the crime rate or perhaps that we feel terribly helpless and that the crime rate seems completely out of control are definately contributing factors. Anyways I try to be a realist- I realise that yes, we have an enormous crime problem, and yes, our Government seems to wasting resources which are meant to be used to decrease overall poverty, but we also have enormous potential which can be realised if we don't all depend on handouts and free stuff and so on.

Answer 3

Communication is power. The radio is providing that. The people listening to the statistics get to know what's going on in their country so that they can all see what they can do about it. Heard about community policing? It works wonders and it cannot work if people are not informed on what's going on, at what level and the magnitude of the damage caused by such happening. You don't want to live in an environment where you are ignorant of what is going on till it happens to you. I think they are doing a great job informing the citizenry.

Apartheid served a purpose for a few nutcases. They didn't ever care whether the black man knew what he needed to know or not, as long as they themselves were safe, and for them to be safe, they controlled the movements of every black man. And if a black man cut the throat of his brother in the ghetto, that was not their problem and they felt never obligated to inform the other ghetto residents of the crime. But now, if all know what happens, where and when, it can therefore be condemned and corrective measures put in place. I'm sure that is not obsession.

White colllar crimes are hard to deal with. The perpetrators are the same people supposed to deal with it and that's why you don't hear a lot about it. But then, what happened to the hitherto respected Zuma? Tells you things are changing, for the better.

Answer 4

Maybe one of the first things you should do is review some of the answers you have given regarding South Africa which are completely misrepresenting the Country to Tourists who may want to go there. You are supported by others who give the impression that they have no regard for human life as the Tourist Dollar is more important. The Radio Stations you listen to and the Media you read do not report the full picture and even the crime statistics released yesterday are viewed with sceptism by many. You probably listen to 702 which was recently granted a licence to broadcast on FM after having been refused for the past 20 years. They now tow the Government line whereas in the past they did not tow anybody's line. Coincidence? I think not considering the amount of bribery and corruption at all levels within South African society. Nobody can excuse Apartheid but it has long since passed as an excuse to trot out every time something goes wrong as they do unceasingly when they have no answer. Nor is pulling Mandela out of the hat as a surprise guest impressionable anymore. Apartheid de facto all but ended by the mid 80's but the crime rates spiked in South Africa from around the mid 90's which had more to do with the restructuring of the Police and Army to reflect the demography of the Country. This is a verbatim text from an ANC circular dated 27 April 1994 under the heading Affirmative Action:
The greatest fear of the white settler is to lose his job, his farm or house and all the luxuries. This will enable the new Democratic Government to tax them to the utmost while our comrades in MK and APLA continue with their part of the struggle.
1) Surplus land wil be redistributed among out people.
2) All positions in the Public Service will be replaced by Comrades.
3) The security Forces will be reconstructed with our Comrades to protect our people. Whites were protected for 350 years. Let them experience to be second class citizens.
4) No ammunition will be available to to White settlers.
5) Health Institutions will be Africanised and Whites will pay according to their income to enable them to contribute to their liberated brothers.
6) White schools will be allowed because most settlers will pay their last cent for White education and this will provide money for our people.
7) Pension and Insurance Companies who collected billions over the years, will be to our disposal for remuneration of our Comrades over the years.
Viva- Kill a Boer, Kill a Farmer.
This is the " democracy " and peace and reconciliation the ANC brought to the table after Mandela's release and they are doing very well when you look at any statistic. The "war" which is claimed to have been averted is actually happening and is reflected in the murder and other violent crime rates.
The only people in South Africa who are seeing an increase in wealth are the elite of the ANC. Not the ordinary people on the street who are not even being protected from disease and famine. They dont give a damn about ordinary citizens and hence total fools like Nquaqula and Tsongolollo-Msimang are tolerated. There is hardly any Public Service ( other than Finance strangely) which is not a complete shambles.Therefore any person considering a visit to South Africa needs to be put fully in the picture regarding the crime and moreover now that the World Cup is scheduled to be played there in 2010. If they still decide to go then at least they have been warned but it is the poor sods who live there and fully exposed to the kleptomaniacs who suffer the most.

Answer 5

Increased mobility is no reason for increased crime.

We have unacceptable crime rates, and should do something about it. The radios is a powerfull tool that might get the government to actually do something about the problem.

Answer 6

No Porgie. It's not obvious that crime will explode to such dimensions. Stop being a sheep and making excuses for your Marxist government's criminal dereliction of its citizens.

Place your crime stats next to some population stats of what used to be South Africa and understand the enormity of what's going on around you. It's not normal.

White collar criminals don't rape babies.

Porgie - my naive, deluded young friend, it's impossible to answer the question without attacking your criminal, violent, so-called government. They are RESPONSIBLE for the hell you live in.