A report by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) about the violent nature of crime in South Africa has 'not revealed anything new.' However, according to crime researcher Eldrid De Klerk, the report mainly focused on violent offenders and their reasons for perpetrating a crime.
"There are two main issues that I have with the report. It is focused on the offender and looks at why they have become violent. It also suggests that the perpetrator must be 'sick.' This does not teach us anything new."
De Klerk suggested that a different question should have been asked to determine the nature of violent crimes. "We could have looked at how violent crime has changed over time."
Earlier this week, the Ministry of Police said they welcomed the report but noted its strengths and limitations. However, secretary for Police, Jenni Irish Qhobosheane noted that by changing the focus of the study, the outcomes would have been vastly different.
"The report opens a debate on the nature of crime in the country which is useful…however we have some serious concerns about some of its elements. There was nothing incredibly new that hit us in the face or took us by surprise."
"For example, the recommended innovations and suggestions are not anything new. The fundamental issue was looking at why crime was violent. We believe that the report has failed to answer this question critically," she said.
While De Klerk welcomed the feedback from Ministry of Police, he said they were the one's to commission the report and ultimately gave CSVR the question to ask.
"The police's criticism of the study is correct but they commissioned the report. They could have asked a different question but ultimately they may have asked it from the wrong people. Sadly we are focusing on crime and not the policing of crime. We are also not focusing on the governance of safety and security and the building of institutions that can focus on that, De Klerk concluded. VOC (Dorianne Arendse)
In VOC
CSVR is a multi-disciplinary institute that seeks to understand and prevent violence, heal its effects and build sustainable peace at the community, national and regional levels.
