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                                                       SA 'not crime skunk of world'

2007-3-7 23:02
 

Bloemfontein - South Africa should not see itself as the "criminal skunk" of the world because many other countries in transition had the same high crime prevalence. 
 

Dap Louw, a psychology professor at the University of the Free State, said South Africans should also not develop a "learned helplessness syndrome" - characterised by powerlessness and incapability in the fight against crime. 

Louw, also a renowned criminologist, said during a symposium in Bloemfontein on violent crimes: "A positive national self-image should be promoted to combat the cynicism, distrust and depression that disempower South Africans to actively take part in the fight against crime. 
        

"We can do something about it instead of just talking about it around braais." 

                                        'Others have same experience' 

 Louw said the crime situation in South Africa should be put in perspective because this was something the South African media "clearly did not specialise in". 
    

"We lived in an abnormal society (apartheid), now we live in a normal society in a country in transition." 
    

Louw said other transitional countries that had experienced the same crime situation as South Africa were Russia, Estonia, Cambodia and Poland. 
    

Louw said the media in other non-transitional countries like America, Wales, England and Australia had also reported on "concerns" of an increase of violent crime in 1996. 
    

"These people are in the same boat as you and me," said Louw, himself also a crime victim, having being stabbed twice in the back. 
       

Looking at the causes of crime, Louw said South Africans should not look further than themselves and must stop pointing fingers at others. 
        

Louw quoted 19th century French criminologist Jean Lacassagne who said: "Every society gets the number of criminals it deserves". 
        

Referring to the environmental causes of crime, Louw said that in South Africa he would add to this quote the words "the kind of criminals it deserves" if one looked at the state of the country's children. 
    

"Approximately 40% of our children live in poverty, about 100 000 children are projected to die from Aids in the next 10 years, two million [will be] orphaned, and 30% of the reported cases of suicidal behaviour involve children." 

                                        'Today's kids tomorrow's criminals' 

At least 1 000 children were murdered every year, 20 000 were raped each year (40% of all rape cases), while millions were emotionally and physically abused and neglected by parents and other adults. 

"Today's children are not only tomorrow's adults, they are also tomorrow's criminals." 

Louw felt that alcohol's role in crime and accidents was under-reported, although 60% of all crime was attributed to alcohol. 

Poverty alleviation and social upliftment should form part of any crime-prevention strategy. 

"Other factors include research, the targeting of less-serious offences "creating a zero-tolerance effect", the involvement of communities and empowering victims. 

Although violent crime was regarded as South Africa's foremost threat, scientific data was scarce, said Louw. 

Human rights commissioner Leon Wessels said the crime situation had caused the number of initial supporters for the abolishing of the death penalty to shrink. 

                                        More research needed 

However, he said it was not likely that the death penalty would come back within the "lifetime" of the present government. 

Wessels said there was enough room within the constitution to tackle the crime situation. 
Civil Society Initiative chairman Roelf Meyer agreed that crime with a "violent element" should be researched. Reasons for the "mindset" must be found. 

Meyer said ways of improving the crime situation included involving the private sector in police training, proper and good management of policing at grass-roots level and getting civil society involved. 

BRON: http://www.24.com/news/?p=tsa&i=443480

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