This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/01/south-africa-violent-crime-murders-increase-inequality

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Calls for inequality to be tackled in South Africa as violent crime rises Calls for inequality to be tackled in South Africa as violent crime rises
(about 11 hours later)
The vigilante mob forced rubber tyres, filled with petrol, around the 16-year-old twins’ necks and set them on fire in an open field. The form of extrajudicial killing known as “necklacing” was used against suspected collaborators during South Africa’s apartheid era. But this incident took place in Etwatwa, near Johannesburg, in early September. The vigilante mob forced rubber tyres, filled with petrol, around the 16-year-old twins’ necks and set them on fire in an open field. The form of killing known as “necklacing” was used against suspected collaborators during South Africa’s apartheid era. But this incident took place in Etwatwa, near Johannesburg, in early September.
The twins, Sabelo and Samkelo Maisela, were accused of belonging to a gang blamed for an earlier necklacing. They were also accused of terrorising local residents, who have all but given up on the police. Their deaths made the news in South Africa, but not for long in a country where violent deaths are unexceptional.The twins, Sabelo and Samkelo Maisela, were accused of belonging to a gang blamed for an earlier necklacing. They were also accused of terrorising local residents, who have all but given up on the police. Their deaths made the news in South Africa, but not for long in a country where violent deaths are unexceptional.
Official police figures published this week show that 49 people are murdered every day across the country, equivalent to one every half hour, a figure described by one politician as being “what one would expect from a country at war”. It marked an increase for a third consecutive year after the murder rate more than halved over the first 18 years of post-apartheid democracy.Official police figures published this week show that 49 people are murdered every day across the country, equivalent to one every half hour, a figure described by one politician as being “what one would expect from a country at war”. It marked an increase for a third consecutive year after the murder rate more than halved over the first 18 years of post-apartheid democracy.
The stark figures threaten to undo work done in recent years to overturn South Africa’s reputation for violent crime that deterred foreign tourists and drove middle class emigration. They also left politicians and academics trying to understand why the country is bucking global trends, which have seen homicides drop to record lows in cities such as London and New York. South Africa’s murder rate of 33 per 100,000 is more than five times higher than the 2013 worldwide average of 6.2 per 100,000. The murder rate among young black men in some communities is 300 to 400 per 100,000.The stark figures threaten to undo work done in recent years to overturn South Africa’s reputation for violent crime that deterred foreign tourists and drove middle class emigration. They also left politicians and academics trying to understand why the country is bucking global trends, which have seen homicides drop to record lows in cities such as London and New York. South Africa’s murder rate of 33 per 100,000 is more than five times higher than the 2013 worldwide average of 6.2 per 100,000. The murder rate among young black men in some communities is 300 to 400 per 100,000.
Related: South Africa 'a country at war' as murder rate soars to nearly 49 a dayRelated: South Africa 'a country at war' as murder rate soars to nearly 49 a day
But the answer, some believe, is unusually straightforward. “The single most important reason is because we have not cracked inequality as a problem,” said Eusebius McKaiser, an author and newspaper columnist. “We’ve known for years there is a reliable correlation between gratuitously violent crime and inequality. Poverty, unemployment and social cohesion are all part of the mix, but we are deeply unequal still, so the statistics don’t surprise me.”But the answer, some believe, is unusually straightforward. “The single most important reason is because we have not cracked inequality as a problem,” said Eusebius McKaiser, an author and newspaper columnist. “We’ve known for years there is a reliable correlation between gratuitously violent crime and inequality. Poverty, unemployment and social cohesion are all part of the mix, but we are deeply unequal still, so the statistics don’t surprise me.”
South Africa may be wealthier than neighbouring countries where crime rates are much lower, such as Mozambique and Zimbabwe. However, it is among the most unequal countries in the world, bearing the legacy of apartheid that systematically disempowered the black majority until Nelson Mandela’s election in 1994. Despite the advent of democracy, a 2011 census found that the average annual income of white households was six times higher than that of black households. Corporate boardrooms and rich lists remain dominated by white faces. Ostentatious wealth and brutal poverty often sit cheek-by-jowl in the geography of what has been called “post-apartheid apartheid”.South Africa may be wealthier than neighbouring countries where crime rates are much lower, such as Mozambique and Zimbabwe. However, it is among the most unequal countries in the world, bearing the legacy of apartheid that systematically disempowered the black majority until Nelson Mandela’s election in 1994. Despite the advent of democracy, a 2011 census found that the average annual income of white households was six times higher than that of black households. Corporate boardrooms and rich lists remain dominated by white faces. Ostentatious wealth and brutal poverty often sit cheek-by-jowl in the geography of what has been called “post-apartheid apartheid”.
Crime rates contrast dramatically between well-off suburbs and neglected informal settlements where many live in shacks with uncertain access to power, water and sanitation. Paulina Mabogale, who lives in Diepsloot, recalled: “One morning we woke up at four in the morning and heard a shotgun [blast]. There was a body just where we live. People said the man was quiet, he was working, he didn’t do any crime. I don’t know why they shot him. It’s really scary: from half-seven in the evening it’s really dangerous to be on the road.”Crime rates contrast dramatically between well-off suburbs and neglected informal settlements where many live in shacks with uncertain access to power, water and sanitation. Paulina Mabogale, who lives in Diepsloot, recalled: “One morning we woke up at four in the morning and heard a shotgun [blast]. There was a body just where we live. People said the man was quiet, he was working, he didn’t do any crime. I don’t know why they shot him. It’s really scary: from half-seven in the evening it’s really dangerous to be on the road.”
Mabogale, 58, works as a domestic worker in the Johannesburg suburb of Parkview, where houses are protected by high walls, electric wire fences, steel window bars and gates, as well as armed 24-hour security patrols. Residents receive crime alerts by email detailing incidents in their neighbourhood. Mabogale said she was attacked from behind by a man who, posing as a curtain fitter, put a rope around her neck and demanded money. “I was very frightened. I thought he was going to kill me. I thought there’s nothing I can do, if that’s what you want to do, you’ve got me now.” The robber was later arrested and jailed.Mabogale, 58, works as a domestic worker in the Johannesburg suburb of Parkview, where houses are protected by high walls, electric wire fences, steel window bars and gates, as well as armed 24-hour security patrols. Residents receive crime alerts by email detailing incidents in their neighbourhood. Mabogale said she was attacked from behind by a man who, posing as a curtain fitter, put a rope around her neck and demanded money. “I was very frightened. I thought he was going to kill me. I thought there’s nothing I can do, if that’s what you want to do, you’ve got me now.” The robber was later arrested and jailed.
Religious leaders expressed concern about what the latest figures indicate about the nation’s health. Xola Skosana, pastor at the Way of Life church in Khayelitsha, near Cape Town, said: “We have South Africans [living] in what are effectively refugee camps in the country that breed this crime. You cannot trap people in underdevelopment for so long and not expect their natural instincts to kick in. You cannot separate these statistics from the conditions in which people on a day-to-day basis have to make sense of life.Religious leaders expressed concern about what the latest figures indicate about the nation’s health. Xola Skosana, pastor at the Way of Life church in Khayelitsha, near Cape Town, said: “We have South Africans [living] in what are effectively refugee camps in the country that breed this crime. You cannot trap people in underdevelopment for so long and not expect their natural instincts to kick in. You cannot separate these statistics from the conditions in which people on a day-to-day basis have to make sense of life.
“It forces them into self-hatred and self-degradation and they project that hatred on to others. It’s deeply psychological in a way we have not begun to understand. There are high levels of anger and resentment.”“It forces them into self-hatred and self-degradation and they project that hatred on to others. It’s deeply psychological in a way we have not begun to understand. There are high levels of anger and resentment.”
Paul Verryn, a Methodist minister based in Johannesburg, added: “The disparity between the haves and the have-nots is becoming intolerable and the anger of communities is rising exponentially. Many people are beginning to feel that they have nothing to lose.”Paul Verryn, a Methodist minister based in Johannesburg, added: “The disparity between the haves and the have-nots is becoming intolerable and the anger of communities is rising exponentially. Many people are beginning to feel that they have nothing to lose.”
Related: Violent protests erupt in Cape Town district - in picturesRelated: Violent protests erupt in Cape Town district - in pictures
House robberies reached their highest ever annual recorded total, increasing by 5.2% to pass the 20,000 mark for the first time. Street robberies increased by around 9.7% compared with the previous year. Every day, on average, 207 cases of street robbery were reported to the police. Vehicle hijacking increased by 14.2% while business robbery is now four times higher than in 2004/05, although reported sexual offences, assaults and car thefts decreased.House robberies reached their highest ever annual recorded total, increasing by 5.2% to pass the 20,000 mark for the first time. Street robberies increased by around 9.7% compared with the previous year. Every day, on average, 207 cases of street robbery were reported to the police. Vehicle hijacking increased by 14.2% while business robbery is now four times higher than in 2004/05, although reported sexual offences, assaults and car thefts decreased.
Social and economic causes are combined with perceived failings by the police, notably a sharp decline in the quality and resources of crime intelligence services. A growth in protests over public service delivery is also blamed for drawing manpower and resources away from community policing to public order and anti-riot management. Alleged corruption among the political elite, all the way up to the president, Jacob Zuma, is seen as another spark.Social and economic causes are combined with perceived failings by the police, notably a sharp decline in the quality and resources of crime intelligence services. A growth in protests over public service delivery is also blamed for drawing manpower and resources away from community policing to public order and anti-riot management. Alleged corruption among the political elite, all the way up to the president, Jacob Zuma, is seen as another spark.
Steven Friedman, an academic and political commentator, said: “People in suburbs can buy security that people in townships cannot. If you look at the suburbs in this country, private security is far more important than the police are. The police are only called in as the line of last resort.”Steven Friedman, an academic and political commentator, said: “People in suburbs can buy security that people in townships cannot. If you look at the suburbs in this country, private security is far more important than the police are. The police are only called in as the line of last resort.”
Margie Orford, a crime novelist whose research includes embedding with police patrols and visiting jails, said: “I remember interviewing a gangster who said if MPs don’t obey the law, why should we obey the law? There is a sense that you do what you can get away with.”Margie Orford, a crime novelist whose research includes embedding with police patrols and visiting jails, said: “I remember interviewing a gangster who said if MPs don’t obey the law, why should we obey the law? There is a sense that you do what you can get away with.”
She added: “We have a prison system that’s completely punitive: it turns violent men into extremely violent men. The gangs run the prisons. It’s almost like a factory of violence and there’s little by way of rehabilitation programmes. It’s like a gulag. People who get out are 10 times worse than when they went in.”She added: “We have a prison system that’s completely punitive: it turns violent men into extremely violent men. The gangs run the prisons. It’s almost like a factory of violence and there’s little by way of rehabilitation programmes. It’s like a gulag. People who get out are 10 times worse than when they went in.”