Durban - KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala provided eight ways to prevent crime during his address at the Crime Prevention Summit at the Olive Convention Centre in Durban on Friday.
Zikalala said these were some of the measures available in the literature on crime prevention that could be considered in efforts to reduce crime.
1. Stricter alcohol control
Since alcohol is a big factor behind crime, car accidents and the spread of diseases, communities and government should look into better regulation of the alcohol industry as well as reduce alcohol outlets and close those near schools and places of learning.
“As with other countries, we could even look into passing laws that revoke a person’s right to consume alcohol if there is a pattern that the person commits violent crime when drunk,” Zikalala said.
2. Targeting crime hot spots
“We have evidence about the crime hot spots in KwaZulu-Natal. We know that many of the violent crimes occur in eThekwini and around Pietermaritzburg. Police stations in Umlazi, Inanda and Plessislaer often find themselves in the top 30 crime hot spots in the country.
“It means that we should continue to increase police visibility and deploy the best police resources to reduce crime in such areas.”
Research shows that hot spot policing reduces crime in those specific areas without necessarily taking it to other areas. These reductions in crime enthuse communities to work more with the police.
3. Focused deterrence policing
Zikalala said those involved in policing should be empowered to pay attention to specific crimes that affect neighbourhoods. It could be a challenge around gangs, drugs, house break-ins and gun violence.
“Again, the community needs to be mobilised to stand together and convey an unambiguous message that it stands united against violence and crime.”
4. Behavioural intervention programmes
“We cannot overemphasise the need of inculcating good morals but also focus on programmes aimed at changing the behaviour of youth that are at risk of committing a crime,” Zikalala said.
Focus on creating well-targeted programmes: If the goal is to reduce sexual violence, then programme selection should be located in hot spot areas and focused on the population group most likely to commit this crime.
“We need people who will model good behaviour and share experiences. As KwaZulu-Natal, we need to also work closely with the Department of Correctional Services by utilising some of their exemplary and rehabilitated offenders in crime prevention and crime-fighting. It has been demonstrated over and over that young people often learn a great deal when they hear offenders or ex-offenders explaining to them that crime does not pay. This is also a good way for ex-offenders to pay back to society and integrate them back into communities.”
5. Eliminate dilapidated housing
Research shows that blighted housing and unclean neighbourhoods attract crime. In this regard, cleaning campaigns, home improvements, urban upgrading and better urban planning contribute to preventing and reducing crime.
6. Approach violence as a health issue
Zikalala said it was important that society treats violent crime as a health concern.
“This requires that we continue to uphold and promote a human rights ethos even as we deal with offenders.
“It means recognising the inherent dignity of all and focusing on parenting interventions, family interventions and health campaigns. This means that parents need to share better ways of instilling discipline in children instead of using violence which children can later use to get their way in life. As they say, violence begets violence,” Zikalala said.
7. Paying attention to gun control
Zikalala said police and crime intelligence told us that there were too many guns, unlicensed firearms to be specific, which are in the hands of criminals.
“In KwaZulu-Natal, we are learning that some of these guns that get used in the commission of crimes come from the private security industry. We also need to look closely into the issue of guns that get inherited by surviving family members when an owner dies,” Zikalala said.
He said in these instances, you find people not authorised to carry a firearm suddenly in possession of a gun.
“As the provincial government, we believe we need a focused campaign to encourage communities to surrender unlicensed firearms to the police. It is a simple fact that where there are no guns, we cannot talk about gun-related deaths.”
8. Crime in the virtual world
Zikalala added that one writer reminds us that violence is going virtual and that we need to understand this phenomenon much better.
“This is true for our province as it has been argued that, for instance, much of the July 2021 violence was encouraged on social media.”
“We also know that much cyber bullying happens on these social media platforms with devastating consequences, especially on young people. We know of instances where young people commit suicide after experiencing bullying and cyberbullying,” Zikalala said.
He also said more must be done to prevent bullying and cyber bullying especially in schools.
Zikalala said the people of KZN looked to the summit to recommend practical ways and implantable plans to eradicate crime.
“It is tragic that their freedom continues to be threatened by violent offenders,” Zikalala said.
“We look forward to your recommendations on how we can make crime-fighting initiatives like Operation Vala a success.”
“More than that, this summit will make recommendations on our programme of action on preventing crime and instilling acceptable social behaviour.
“There is no doubt too, that our engagement must help us to improve monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of our crime-fighting strategies.”
Daily News