What are your opinions of your governments stance that violent crime is the result of socioeconomic conditions

We do not have violent crime. It has all been solved. FOR THAT MATTER; we do not have any crime. NOTHING. I am sure there will be an anouncement soon from government that crime has now been resolved for ever.

That nonsense. People (especially politicians) must not shift the blame. I am Black. My family grew up in poverty. We only managed to eat chicken on alternate Sundays after church services. My mom used to cook us soup made of flour, cooking oil, water and salt and we would it that with pap. But we never went out stealing, raping and killing people because of our situation. How does raping (let alone that of a toddler) put food in ones' stomach? The idea of entertaining trash that says poverty makes people to murder and rape makes my stomach. I'm about to throw out!!!!!!!!!

I get that poor & hungry ppl get desperate & steal, but violent crimes such as rape & murder for very little reason if any, are due to punishment & jail sentences in this country being an absolute JOKE!!!!!

Maybe its because most of the ppl feel they deserve to get whatever they wanted handed to them on a platter, and when they dont, they then take matters into the own hands. Once they realise "hey, i can get away with this" they then move on to more gruesome crimes.

Socio-economic conditions do count as one of the factors in contributing toward crime but it is not the only factor and thus cannot be used as the singular cause for crime in South Africa nor anywhere else in the world. Political action both past and present and the effects of those policies have on the future. A decay in sectors of society as well as lack of certain levels of service from government contributes as does community complicity in crime. Certain poor communities benefit from the proceeds of crime. Sons kill and steal and make money from their crimes then use the proceeds to provide for the families. These families and the communities where this is a norm very seldom report their own. There are also psychological factors as well, although it forms a very small part of the reason for a crime increase. Policing and government services aimed at crime prevention need to be strengthened and sentences for crime need to be harsher. Rape, murder and sodomy are all interlinked and have very strong ties with jail. In jail, Nongoloza's Children, the prison gangs known as the 26, 27 and 28's practice those with the murder of warders and inmates and the rape of male and female prisoners. Often joining a gang is the only way to survive in jail and those who join are steeped in the culture of gangs and their methods. As a result of our more lenient sentences these criminals come out of prison and teach these ideals to the children in their communities who in turn practise what they are taught. Although initially thought to be a Western Cape phenomenon only, the Number has a long history in almost all of South African jails. The other factor concerning crime in South Africa and it's prevalence in our society has to with the fact that we have violent political past. Due to violence used as a means against political opponents on all sides a generation of youth were inculcated with the idea that violence is the only solution to resolving differences. The ANC used their Young Lions against their opponents, the government used their young soldiers to defend their point of view, the PAC with NP support did too. Three of the most horrific methods of crime appeared during this period, the necklace, assassination and jack rolling. For those who do not know, jack rolling was a PAC method whereby a group of young men would abduct a young girl, take her to a secluded spot and gang rape her for days, sometimes weeks then return her to her home. The men and women who partook of this violence then took these ideas into their communities (if they did not get a post in the new government where they probably still believe in the same thing) and taught these methods to their children. This also explains the high level of violence in townships and squatter camps. In order for there to be an effective reduction in crime every single factor needs to be addressed and long term, sustainable plans of action need to be implemented to eradicate them and the crime problem in South Africa.

I totally agree with you , the government doesn't want to take resposibility for the problems they have caused , there is always an excuse , firstly they say we exaggerate the levels of crime , then when that doesnt work , they just blame the old regime for all the problems, they keep saying that we must move ahead and not dwel on the past , but they contradict themselves by implementing BEE , AA , etc. I believe that this government is just implementing apartheid in reverse - well not in terms of making us carry dompasses etc , but in more subtle ways such as land redistribution policies , quota systems in our sport , BEE , etc... (no offence meant to any1 - just my opions)

We can wring our hands and find all sorts of excuses for crime. However, crime occurs wherever individuals believe THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH IT. From Stalin to modern inner cities to white collar crime. Evil will raise it's ugly head where there is feeble resistance. So what does that tell you about our society, our police and our judiciary?