In part 1 of this blog post, I discussed the State of the Nation address, delivered rather badly last Thursday by the president. I mentioned how the problem of crime had gone almost completely unmentioned by the Comrade Leader’s speech.
Thankfully, I’m not the only one to decry the lack of crime prevention strategy in the State of the Nation address. The trade union Solidarity delivered thousands of letters yesterday to the president’s doorstep, begging His Majesty to do something about crime.
As promised in the first part of this blog post, here are my crime-combating policies. Well, since none are forthcoming from the government, I’ve had to think up some of my own. These are the sort of things I’m looking for when I listen to a State of the Nation address.
Reinstate capital punishment
The death sentence. Certain crimes should be punishable by death. Murder and rape leap immediately to mind. The death sentence was abolished in 1995 by the Constitutional Court in the landmark case, State vs Makwanyane. In that case, the court held that the death sentence for murder is unconstitutional because it is cruel, inhuman and degrading and incompatible with the right to life and the right to dignity as guaranteed by the Constitution.
Some commentators have argued that in Makwanyane, the Court placed undue emphasis on the criminal’s rights and not enough on the rights of the victims, the duty of the government to protect the basic right to life of innocent citizens (as is prescribed by the Constitution, no less) and society’s interests in general. This was perhaps a rather self-conscious attempt by the Constitutional Court to “redress the wrongs of the past”. I would agree with those commentators. Makwanyane was a stab at social engineering and a colossal failure at that, judging by the murder statistics in the years since then (50 murders a day, by the last count). In fact, the crime rates should be enough for the courts to admit that Makwanyane was a mistake. Even if the murder rate doesn’t subsequently come down, which it surely would, the public would at least be consoled that justice was being down, that criminals were paying dearly for taking innocent lives.
The debate on the abolition of the death sentence is somewhat protracted and perhaps outside the scope of this blog post but I will say this: most death sentence naysayers point to longer jail sentences as a more palatable alternative to capital punishment. However, in South Africa, the recidivism rate is well over 90%. Or to put that in English, over 90% of people released from prison because their sentences are finished will commit crime again. That statistic alone rubbishes the idea that jail sentences can function as a proper alternative to the death sentence. That aside, it should suffice to say that a simple analysis of the way the Bill of Rights was interpreted in Makwanyane, which lead to the abolition of the death sentence, does raise some questions as to whether the Constitutional Court’s priorities where correctly placed when that verdict was reached.
“Depoliticise” the police and the National Prosecuting Authority
In fact, ideally the NPA should be decentralised completely, but that will never happen as long as a socialist and centralist ANC is in power. But they could at least take a few steps in the right direction by not deploying alleged mobsters like Jackie Selebi or clowns like Bheki Cele to the police force. Whatever happened to selecting proper career police to the position of national commissioner, whom we could at least trust to know what they were doing? And political brownnosers like Menzi Simelane being national director of the NPA does not bode well for impartiality in the prosecuting authority.
The police and prosecuting authority should be run by proper people, who will have our best interests at heart, and not those of the governing party.
Suspend affirmative action in the NPA and judiciary
This will be a very unpopular policy, I know. But it’s high time we injected some Obamaesque thinking into our policies. What I like the most about Barack Obama is his integrity — he has the political will to what’s necessary, even if it’s wildly unpopular. Like bailing Wall Street out. Besides, affirmative action at the end of the day boils down to a form of tokenism, something I really despise. Why isn’t the government focusing more on equipping people with the skills to enter the under-represented jobs, rather than opting for easier and far less effective affirmative action? Window dressing in the form of underskilled people being placed in positions because of their skin colour isn’t unheard of, especially in the public sector. More often, the positions are simply left vacant if the only suitable candidates are white. This farce needs to stop, especially in critical public services like the judiciary and the NPA. If the government really can’t help it, they can window dress and push token candidates of colour as much as they like in services that aren’t critical to our safety.
Would the Comrade Leader make political enemies were he to implement these policies? Yes, quite a few. No more cushy jobs for Zuma yes-men in the NPA.
But would these policies make a difference? Yes, a big one. And that would make the other 48 million South Africans who aren’t murderers, plunderers or politicians very, very happy.
yejaundicedeye@gmail.com
Sipho I think you make some very good suggestions. but whenever I hear of solutions to the violent crime problem that begin and end with the justice system, I cannot help but think that it is a treatment of the symptom rather the real problem. Education, to my mind, is the only way that criminals can be stopped before they become criminals. Prevention is always better than cure, and I think that with or without the death penalty (which I disagree with, but thats another argument), we will continue this struggle for centuries if the core issues which lead people to crime are not addressed in discussion of crime fighting and prevention.
You views are well articulated but shortsighted and lack context. There are no short-cuts in finding an effective solution to problems embeded in the social fibre of society for decades as you suggested. As you claim Obama is your man, its fine nothing wrong with that, however, many problem is your suggestion of “Obama-i-sation of South Africa.
Black people were the only target of death sentence, police brutality was and worse th system was rotten to the core during apartheid. If you are a real thinker you would appreciate the circumstances under which an effective solution to deal with crime should be crafted not just write to please a certain portion of our society.
South Africa and USA are not on the same league. The challenges facing Obama are different from problems facing RSA. To simply copy what the Americans have done and implement and implement it as raw as it is, is not called for.
No! to the death sentence. It is not a very solid argument to only look at one variable that changed (abolish death sentence) and not the other variables like – halve the polic force, – reduce police training, – employ just about anybody, no matter how unsuitable for the police force, etc. With our current government I would feel really uncomfortable with the death sentence. It would give too much leeway for corruption of the worst kind, namely “offing” your political opponents legally.
Then, am I the only one that is still laboring under the (mis)conception that the judiciary is indeed supposed to be completely independant from the executive arm of government? Oh yes, I forgot, President Zuma is above the law and does not need to follow it… and there it all falls flat.
I am with you on affirmative action but why stop at only the vital jobs? All jobs are vital, unless it is “make work” and just a ploy to keep someone on the payroll, i.e. highly unnecessary.
@ Sipho – You do not proffer a convincing argument why the Constitutional Court erred in the Makwanyane case. Perhaps it would have been easier had you suggested a change to the constitution to provide for the death penalty. Anyway, why is the death penalty any better than chopping a criminal’s hand, for example?
I agree on the police and NPA; career politicians should be just that. But then again, how did we get De Kok, Niewoudt, Coetzee and the others?
Affirmative action in the NPA and the Judiciary? You may have a point, but the call seem reckless. Affirmative action is meant to give preference to equally skilled and competed persons classified as previously disadvantaged. You are therefore wrong to assume lack of skills and incompetence on the part of those who benefit from it. Can it be abuse? Absolutely! Just in the same way performance appraisals in the work place are. The difference is that it can be challenged all the way to the constitutional court, not only by those affected but by interested parties as well, if unfairly applied.
Your article is filled with nonsense.You were the shouting out loud in the last elections lying to us that the ANC wanted to alter the constitution for its benefit and we wait and the ANC has not attempted to change it,suddenly you have the appetite to go against your earlier warning.
@Sipho
What is your source for this: “…… most death sentence naysayers point to longer jail sentences as a more palatable alternative to capital punishment.”
In my opinion nothing could be further from the truth, I mean just now you will be arguing in favor of the gun lobby shouting ‘more guns equals less crime’ or ‘an armed society is a polite society’.
As someonoe opposed to the death penatly I believe a task team of criminologists and sociologists need to be consulted on how to prevent crime from happening in the first place.
Once you have to punish someone its too late.
Rampant crime is a social disorder or disease and you cannot treat a disease by treating the symptoms (jail em or hang em), you have to treat the cause.
Yes there will always be a few individuals who do crime no matter what, but when people who would normally be law abiding citizens commit crime, there is an underlying social problem that needs to be addressed.
Can you blame schoolleavers who have no chance of ever getting a job from becoming frustrated with their lot, or people whose traditions and secure lifestyle have been uprooted in favor of a squalid squatter camp with no prospect of tasting any benefits of the modern material world except if they rob a bank or sell drugs?
A fantastic article that cuts through the ‘political correctness’ and deals with the realities on the ground.
Regards KC’s comment: “You are therefore wrong to assume lack of skills and incompetence on the part of those who benefit from it.”. I am afraid he is not. From years of recruitment experience, I believe there is a drastic lack of skills and competence.
To solve this, the Government needs to plough money into education, housing, health and policing. It is the only way we are going to create the required skill-set in the South African black population at a national scale.
We need to move away from the short-sighted Bush “we wanna rule and be rich folks today” to the Chinese philosophy of long-term education and gradual improvement through hardwork and diligence.
@Sipho
Just because 90% of those who commit crime will do so again somehow means we must bring back the death penalty???? I do not understand your logic, my good man.
If I were to extend your thoughts, do you mean that if we as society remove these people whom we send to prison completely from this life, then it would be a better life????
If this is your thinking, then your argument is seriously flawed. Quite frankly, the crime situation is very complex. I do not think there is any one solution to the problem. Certainly, murdering people who commit crimes (aka capital punishment) cannot be proven to be a deterrent. If it were a deterrent, quite frankly, all territories where there is a death sentence would be crime free!!
From what I know, this is simply not true.
BTW, have you noticed the increasing number of fatal shootings of (alleged) criminals is becoming rife in KZN? Do you think this will deter criminals?
Make a better argument. Do NOT oversimplify this crime situation. You don’t sound too good when you do.
Just a thought.
Facts:
1. I wasn’t even contributing to this site last elections. You must be mistaking me for someone else. At this point I’m not sure whether to be insulted or flattered by that.
2. The Constitution has been amended no less than 17 times. See here for details on latest one: http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71619?oid=134659&sn=Detail
There are even more amendments in the offing. And yes, they are largely to the ANC’s benefit.
You and I must have completely different definitions of the word “fact”.
I cannot agree with the proposal that the death sentence be reinstated, for one simple reason: given the state of South Africa’s legal system, how sure can you be that you’re executing the right person?
Furthermore, looking at crime statistics from the US, it appears that the death penalty does not have a deterrent effect. And the purpose of the justice system is not to satisfy some atavistic desire for bloody revenge.
Death penalty no. Imprisonment for life where they start off naked with no blanket and no food and have to earn the right to have those things. Any infraction and they go back to that state. If they are unable to do so well then there they stay isolated and alone, no family visits, no access to anyone or anything which they could view as a gain. If they choose to hunger strike well so be it, let them die, they chose to remove the right to life from a law-abiding citizen they have the right to end their own lives if they choose. No mail, no communication with anyone except their jailers who should be beyond reproach and completely impassive. Either you choose to do you choose not to. Already you have more right than your victim did. This is the only punishment that child abusers, rapists and murderers will understand. No drugs, alcohol, TV. earn it. Harsh you may say. No, I will argue. They still have the choice to have those things by really changing, their victims in society and relicts have no possibility of bringing back to life the one you assumed to harm. Life must mean life – a living death, isolation. No parole until you are too old to harm another member of society, no special treatment because you are sick. You want to survive you get the barest minimum in terms of survival unless you show genuine and sustained change for XX years min.
@Peace in Our Time
Why not include torture and public executions for minor infringements as well? Revenge mentality like yours will bring no peace in our time.
I don’t really like the label murderer to describe a person who have killed another human being. As with all label it does not begin to describe the various reasons for murder. Killing by accident, killing in anger, killing in cold blood for monetary gain. What would you do if you walk in on a guy raping your wife/child? Besides killing is an easy out for murderers. I believe that they should pay back their debts to society. The problem with our jails is that the HRC has turned them into 5* hotels and even given prisoners the right to vote. As a hardened criminal, wouldn’t you vote for those who serve your criminal intentions bests? the kids these days dress like gangsters because that is who they look up to. Wonder why?
@Sipho
Despite all the people who disagree with you keep writing. It takes guts to do what you’re doing.
Given the current state of the judicial system I have doubts about the death sentence. If we could be sure that the accused really was guilty, I’m all for it – at least one less murderer will be around to kill again.
On the whole Sipho, I agree with you. We would do so much better if we employed competent people who did their jobs well. Every unfilled post means one more unemployed person – with less money to flow through the economy, less tax collection.
Crap article. The death penalty is pointless. By hanging, beheading, firing squading, electrocuting, gassing or lethally injecting murderers and rapists, we become as a society what they are. Someone mentioned in this thread that you do not solve the problems of society by addressing the symptoms, you address the causes. And excecuting rapists is way too excessive. Ever heard of the principle of the punishment being equal to the crime (or something like that, you’re the one studying law)? There is one argument that trumps all others against capital punishment. The fact that there is always (and I mean ALWAYS) a chance that a guilty verdict can be wrong and proven so after the fact, means that there is ALWAYS a chance of putting innocent people to death in the name of retributive justice. One wrong judgement is one too many. There is no restoration that can be made to a dead man who is proven innocent after his death. That arguement should put the final nail in the coffin of the “bring back the death penalty argument”.