EDITORIAL: Police not enough to fight crime
SA needs to lessen the appeal of violence and illegality to bring criminal activity under control
With 58 murders and 114 rapes reported a day, this week’s crime statistics shine a harsh spotlight on the capability of the state to enforce the rule of law. But perhaps most importantly, the gloomy data tells us that our criminal justice system might not be enough to improve public safety.
Broadly, the trend of the last six years is a cause for concern. The rate of murder has jumped by a hefty 35%, despite increased government spending on public order and safety and increasingly harsher sentences for violent crimes. Worryingly, this is a reversal of a downward trend between 2006 and 2012 during which time murder fell by more than 16%. ..
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