Invasion

Gigi Guilhamet

Period 5

March 11, 2015

Invasion

Have you ever gone to bed scared that someone is going to break into your house? Have you ever felt the need to keep your car locked while driving in fear of getting carjacked? Imagine waking up to someone invading your own home where you are supposed to feel safe. This is the everyday reality for the people in South Africa. Crime rates in South Africa are higher than most places in the world because theres is no respect for police or law (Gould). Police often do not do the job they should because they do not have proper training (factsheet). Also, the ratio of the number of police to the amount of crime makes it difficult to keep everything in order (Dixon).This makes it so there is no fear of being punished or caught. Unemployment is also a major issue causing people to turn to crime for money. The unemployed people are already the lower class so they turn to crime because they are in a position where they have no other source of money (Rohrer). There is no solution, but global knowledge of this issue is necessary. Murder rates are about 20 times as high in South Africa then the UK. In 2008/2009 there were 662 murders in the UK, while in South Africa there were 18,148 (Rohrer). The police in the UK have found a way to have society respect authority and law. In South Africa, laws are not enforced causing crime to spiral out of control. As said by Africa Check, an Africa information website, “the legitimacy of the police is decreasing in the public’s eye.” It is also found that many crimes are not reported and the police never get involved, meaning the crime rates are technically even higher than stated (factsheet). Crimes are also becoming more violent. The people behind these crimes are also becoming bigger (Dixon). There are more and more organised crime groups that people are joining because of unemployment. When there are no longer ways to make money, many feel they have no other options. Because of these crime rates, more and more gated communities are having to be built with round the clock surveillance (Rohrer). This is the only way people can sleep at night without the fear of having their house broken into and having their possessions stolen or worse. This is something that many people in safe areas of America take for granted; Never having to worry to lock their doors wondering who could attempt to invade next.

Works Cited

"It Won't Go Away; Crime in South Africa." Economist [US] 3 Oct. 2009: 53(EU). Global Issues In Context. Web. 13 Mar. 2015. This article explains the balance that must be kept between too little and too much police power. It also talks about how crime is so frequent that people will be killed just for their mobile phones. Just for people to feel safe they must lock themselves up in gated communities with surveillance. Police numbers must be boosted and also they must be qualified.

Newham, Gareth. "President Zuma Ignores Increasing Violent Crime in His State of the Nation Address [analysis]." Africa News Service 23 Feb. 2015: n. pag. Global Issues In Context. Web. 13 Mar. 2015. This article goes into detail about how organized crime is becoming more frequently seen. The police are having to become smarter in order to catch many people at the same time.

Dixon, Bill. "Antony Altbeker (2007): A Country at War with Itself: South Africa's Crisis of Crime." Transformation 68 (2008): 136. Global Issues In Context. Web. 13 Mar. 2015. This journal talks about how the number of crimes is not as severe as the violence associated with the crimes. It also talks about how crime will not go away unless policing improves. The policing needs to match the number of crimes. Also, if there is equality it will cause crime rates to drop dramatically.

Gould, Chandre. "Why Is Crime and Violence so High in South Africa?"News24. N.p., 18 Sept. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. This article explains that the people in South Africa do not have respect for the law. It also states that there is no one solution to fix crime rates. It explains that unless laws are enforced, nothing will change.

Rohrer, Finlo. "How Dangerous Is South Africa?" BBC News. BBC, 17 May 2010. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. There is a huge amount of attempted murders each year as stated in the article. Every 25 minutes there is a crime and not police to stop it. People are also turning to crime because there is no work. There is 20 times for crime in South Africa then the UK.

"FACTSHEET: South Africa's Official Crime Statistics for 2013/14 - Africa Check." Africa Check. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. There has been a steady rate in crime, but it is now beginning to increase. The police are no longer legitimate causing lack of respect. Also, there are huge number of rapes that go unreported. Robbery is becoming one of the only ways to make money. Crime intelligence is starting to help the police a lot as organized criminal groups are growing.