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Five cities in South Africa have been listed in the top 20 crime hotspots in the world, according to the crime index by city 2024.

The index also revealed that the capital city, Pretoria, is the second most dangerous city in the world, with Durban and Johannesburg following closely behind, at number three and four respectively.

Port Elizabeth features next, at number eight, while Cape Town ranks at number 18.

Police Minister Bheki Cele released alarming crime statistics for the third quarter of the financial year 2023/24, per IOL, showing that major cities in South Africa are grappling with a surge in violent criminal activity, putting communities across the nation at risk.

Cele announced that there were 8,000 murders in those three months alone, while 7,000 police officers have been charged with various crimes in the last five years, including committing murder, rape, cash-in-transit heists, and kidnapping.

Speaking to The Star on Tuesday, criminologist, Professor Kholofelo Rakubu, said that South Africa has a culture of violence, adding that violence has become a normalised and accepted form of communication in our society, being seen as a legitimate means to resolve disputes and highlight issues.

“Violent crime in South Africa is the product of a variety of factors. Firearm-related crimes have long been a feature of South African society,” she said. “Easy availability of firearms nevertheless played a central role in the rapid growth of violent crime in the country”.

She said there is a link between socio-economic disadvantage and crime, including violent crime, in South Africa.

“Three socio-economic factors can initially be identified, as playing an important role in the understanding of the incidence of crime,” she said, that being unemployment, income levels, and the prevalent level of income inequality.

“High levels of unemployment mean that the probability of gaining a legal income would be low, while high levels of illegal income simultaneously increases the payoff from criminal activity as well as increasing the opportunity cost of criminal activity.”

The criminologist did not rule out corruption as one of the factors of violent crime in the country.

“Corruption and increasingly sophisticated organised crime networks continue to aggravate South Africa’s efforts to combat illicit trade.

“The number of police is not enough or sufficient to respond to crime. Major cities in South Africa are overpopulated and congested hence the high crime levels in those cities.

She agrees that the government is to blame for the high crime rate in the country’s major cities.

“Although there are policies in place to prevent crime, there are not enough resources in place to ensure efficient implementation of the policies.

“Crime is due to socio-economic conditions, however, the developed policies do not address socio-economic conditions, perpetuating levels of crime.

She reckons harsher punishments need to be implemented while the punishment must fit the crime. She said the government needs to strengthen criminal penalties by raising standards across the country.

Therein lies the rub.

[source:iol]