The prevalence of interpersonal violent crime in South Africa cannot be blamed on inadequate policing, law enforcement analysts said this week, after the department of safety and security released the latest crime statistics.
Antony Altbeker, a crime specialist and author of a recent book on the South African Police Service, said the problem has ”next to nothing to do with the inadequate policing” but a lot to do with poor human relationships. ”If we are talking about rape, then the answers lie in empowering women. If we are talking about battery, then we need to deal with patriarchy. If we are talking about arguments between drinking buddies, people might need to work on controlling their tempers.”
The statistics released this week revealed that 81,5% of murders, 59,4% of attempted murders, 75,9% of rapes and 89,3% cases of assault were committed by perpetrators known to the victims.
Ivor Chipkin of the Human Sciences Research Council believes unemployment is a contributing factor. ”South African men still have very patriarchal and conservative ideas of what it means to be a man,” says Chipkin. ”Men feel that it undermines their idea of men as providers. Women are asserting themselves and their rights as equals and men are reacting to that.”
He adds that while it is difficult to police people’s private lives, the police must continue to make an effort in this direction. ”It is difficult to police, but there are many instances where women are using the instruments available to them as back-up,” he continues. ”They are happy to lay charges against their boyfriends and husbands, but as soon as police investigate they usually drop charges, either because the guys are breadwinners or because they love them. But it is imperative for police to act vigorously on these matters and there has been some failure on their part to do so.”