That is not necessarily the case in the townships. Even after the recent elections, living conditions and joblessness for many have remained the same. Now, a decade later, the scars of the past are haunting the Government of National Unity. Predatory crime, in particular crime committed by strangers on innocent victims, causes the kind of fear that drives people apart. It impedes the formation of meaningful human communities.
Crime violates the social contract a new South Africa so desperately needs.
Burglary, robbery, rape are not merely dangerous, but immoral as well. Criminals are either so emotionally desperate, or psychologically distressed they think they are not going to get caught. They are not concerned about the consequences of their actions. The threatened punishment, regardless of the severity, is not a factor in the equation. The rate of incarceration is ever increasing, without a commensurate improvement in public safety.